Saint Mother Teresa once said that "children are like flowers, how can there possibly be too many?" I agree, and I think one can compare the homeschooled child to a flower in a window box. Sometimes, those who are not familiar with homeschooling tend to draw the conclusion that these little ones are stuck in their homes all day without any "exposure to the real world" and while that may be true to an extent--homeschoolers generally retain a childhood innocence far longer than their peers--they aren't necessarily "sheltered" to the point at which they lack a knowledge of the world around them. 

You see, they're like flowers in a window box. The window box flower is free to feel the wind, that rushing of the times and trends and music on its leaves. 

The window box flower can feel the rain, whether it be soft and cool, or warm and torrential, and even if it is artificial rain that comes from the master of the house during a drought. 

Window box flowers are free to grow, to climb, to bend and coil, to become who and what they truly are, but always remain safely rooted in that box.

These little plants can feel the warmth of the sun and will naturally grow toward its light. 

They also experience the blistering summer heat, or the frigid cold of winter; perhaps at times the flower box might be removed from its spot and tucked safely inside, but only if the threat is severe. 

These flowers may be visited by a great assortment of creatures large and small; the lizard, the frog, flying insects, hummingbirds and passing deer may all pay their respects.  They are not limited to socialization with a specific peer group. 

But most of all, window box flowers are a reflection of their keeper and a gift of beauty and growth to those who dwell there. 

I don't have the patience for that!

We've been homeschooling for about two years now; longer, if you count birth through pre-kinder. And the number one response I get when people find out we're homeschoolers is "I don't have the patience for that!"

I just want to encourage anybody who wants to homeschool but doesn't think they have the patience, or intellect, or supermom-ness. That you DO have the patience and probably more!  Here's a list of things that homeschooling moms never ever have to deal with that you probably do on a daily basis:

1. Waking up at a designated hour. Probably before dark! Just go ahead and cross that off the list in the homeschooling world. Unless of course you're going on a really cool field trip or to an early religious service or you're some weirdo who likes to be up and at 'em. No. Just. No.

2. Getting dressed in the morning according to anybody else's standards. No uniforms here unless they're self-enforced!

3. School busses or school drop offs. 'Nuff said.

4. Permission slips.

5. Backpacks. Backpack checking. Backpack purchasing. Backpack labeling. Backpack theft?

6. Homework. Errrr. wait.... But it's different at home. I swear.

7. Weird *math* homework. I thought this one differed from generic homework. I know it's controversial. Regardless on where you stand on the new-fangled common core math stuff, if you homeschool, you can choose the funny new style or the old style. Woohoo for math autonomy!

8. School fundraising. While I think most people agree that it's a necessary and good thing to raise money for school, it can be kind of a pain, right? Bye bye door to door Tupperware and candy bar sales!

9. That one kid at school who taught your kid the f-bomb. Okay I don't know if that really happens. I just made that one up. But if you really want to you can totally shelter your kids and they will have no clue about what it's like in the real world! *snort*

10. Fees for things. There's a fee for lots of things I hear, from my mom-friends who think they don't have as much patience as me. You only pay fees for things you want to pay fees for!

See. I don't have the patience to send them to school!