First, an explanation: OPCs = Other People’s Children. Before deciding to homeschool, I thought I would go teach other people’s children for a living while my own are in their respective classrooms. I never followed through with that plan because I felt short-changed.
How could I be away from my children for seven hours a day? How could I step aside and allow another person to see the sparkle of “now I get it” in their eyes? Homeschooling became the only solution my heart could accept.
It’s one thing to leave your school-age children behind for the day. It’s another thing altogether to leave your baby behind. Thankfully, I did not have to do either.
Now, let’s take it to another level. If you have five minutes, grab a box of tissues and watch this clip from Paris je t’aime.
You don’t need to speak French to understand what is going on. There’s not much dialogue.
You do need to know that, toward the end, the lady of the house is asking the nanny to stay an hour, an hour and a half over schedule that day before leaving for her own work. The nanny accepts, but watch her face.
On the one hand, you have the mom who leaves her baby in a baby warehouse, a sea of cribs. On the other, you have the mom who leaves her baby with a nanny in a luxurious apartment.
As homeschooling moms, some of us sacrifice lifestyle to stay home and homeschool. Others sacrifice ambition and professional skills acquired in universities.
Today, let’s remember what a privilege it is to be able to spend time with our own children as we homeschool them. Just as they are not babies anymore, they will not be school-age forever, either.
