Going Where God Wants Me To Go

We got kicked out of the home school coop last night! Before it even started. Originally, Eeyore-Roo had been signed up for this group when we were going to home school her and so I also had Winnie and Tigger signed up for preschool. What no one mentioned was that they do not allow children younger than Kindergarten age to join unless they have an older sibling who has joined. So, when we pulled Eeyore-Roo out to go to public school, that meant that Winnie and Tigger could no longer attend the coop either. I was incredibly disheartened. It felt like one of those times when as a teenager you get kicked out of the popular club because you don't have the right haircut or something. It did NOT feel good!

However, after shedding a few tears (thankfully, only a few, not a waterfall full) of frustration over all of the wasted time planning this year and over Winnie's dissappointment when she finds out she won't get to go to this preschool, I prayed. I asked God to give me perspective, show me His way, and to forgive my outburst. I instantly felt a calm come over me. My situation didn't change, but I did feel better about it.

I'm still not sure what, if anything, we are going to do about Winnie and preschool. Christopher Robin and I are discussing it. It is, after all, only preschool. But in the mind of the preschooler it's their whole life, so I want to be sensitive to that. Another good thing that came out of being kicked off the varsity squad of homeschoolers is that it has forced me to consider whether or not I can still be a homeschooling mom with a child in public school. I've tied a lot of my identity up into that little label "Homeschooler" and it may take me a bit to figure out what I am if I'm not a homeschooling mom. I know many families that have each of their children in various forms of education: public, private, web academy, charter schools, homeschool. There are a lot of options out there which gives families today the opportunity to choose the best educational experience for each child. It's awesome! So, I will be praying and seeking God's direction in order to stay in His will and do what's best for our family.

As a result of not doing the coop on Thursday mornings though, I now get to participate in my women's bible study on Thursdays! Yay!!!! That was the one thing that I was sad about missing when I signed up for the coop, so now I don't have to miss it. I treasure my time with these wonderful women and the children. Thank you God!