I always knew that I would love homeschooling my kids during their teens.

When they were little, they needed seatwork and lots of encouragement.  I am not sure that I did so well in either of those areas.  Yes there was seatwork and yes there was encouragement, but did it all happen at the right time or get completely done? Probably not.  One thing for certain, I could never be far away from their desks if anything was to turn out well.

When they were in the middle years, I was able to have a little more time to myself.  They worked on their own better than when mom was around.  They tested their boundaries. They learned lessons from books and from their own choices: good and bad.  During this time, I was able to have creative time, sometimes with the kids and sometimes on my own. These were turbulent years for us in so many ways, and homeschooling was a blessing.  I am not sure how we would have gotten through them if we had not been able to go through it all together.  People question why my kids are so mature?  A lot of life happened in those few short years.  We all grew old faster than normal.

Now we have entered a new phase.  I spend the day at the computer located in my office just across the hall from their rooms and today it finally occurred to them why.  I am on the computer most of the day so I am near them when they need me.  If I were in my sewing room downstairs, I am not as available when they need an opinion.  You see I don’t grade seatwork any more.  I don’t check spelling.  The truth is they have surpassed me in most skills.  They are talented, smart and very creative, each in their own way.   However, they still need mom to explain, confirm and reassure them.  One of the two, watches the news, reads the news and thinks a whole lot on the world he is soon to enter and work hard to change.  The other one sees the beauty of the world and wants to help others see that beauty as well, but her eyes often get clouded with doubt.  Her doubt blocks her creativity. Her doubt often causes her to miss the beauty staring back at her in a mirror.

From one room the call comes, “Mom does this sound correct?”  Soon from the other room the same question is posed.  Laptops in hands, they each come to the office and show me their work.  While one waxes philosophical, one poetic, both communicate an awareness of the world around them.

Yes a new phase is here.  Phone calls to institutions of higher education, college level studies, and an awareness of the political, social and economic trials of our times have become the order of the day.  So I now spend many long hours studying the internet (intermixed with a few moments of Zynga gaming) all so I can answer the call, “Mom what does this mean?”