Nearing the Finish Line

Last week we began our final semester of homeschooling. Here we are, with the finish line in sight, and it’s hard to believe we are actually (finally) here.

I can remember back before I even began homeschooling this, my youngest child, thinking that by the time he is finished, I will have homeschooled my kids for 25 years…a quarter of a century! It seemed so far off. Yet, now, it seems like it’s just been the blink of an eye.

Let me introduce you to my offspring.

My oldest son, TJ, is 30, married to RJ. Their little boy, TL, will be 3 in a few days. He is a delivery driver for FedEx. He has several years previous experience working at a Cracker Barrel restaurant, and before that in a small town convenience store/restaurant/meat processing facility. I homeschooled him Kindergarten through twelfth grade, except for his fifth grade year, when he attended a small church school. His wife was also homeschooled. They live about 20 minutes away from me.

My daughter, JC, is 28, still unmarried. She homeschooled kindergarten through twelfth grade, except for third grade, when she attended the small church school along with her older brother. She was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes at age 10 1/2, and it’s been a rollercoaster ride since. She spent 8 1/2 years working at the local McDonald’s, but quit last November to help my parents. Now she drives my dad to and from dialysis 3 days a week, as well as transporting them both to other appointments. She also does housecleaning, meal prep, grocery shopping, etc., for them. She, my youngest son, and I live together just around the corner from my folks.

My middle son, DL, is 22. He lives in another state, near my younger brother. He works with my brother’s brother-in-law as an apprentice diesel mechanic. He homeschooled kindergarten through eleventh grade, then took GED preparation classes from a nearby technical school. He moved away one month after turning 18…and my heart went with him.

That brings us to my youngest son, SJ. He is 19. He’s been homeschooled from the beginning. He is my special needs child: developmental delays, expressive receptive language disorder, speech impairment. In his early childhood, he had PT, OT and Speech therapy. Academics are a real challenge for him. He learns best hands-on. He has a sweet disposition, is quick to help, and seems to be well-liked by most people. I am thankful that he’s been homeschooled, because I know how cruel other kids can be, and that he would probably have been bullied in school, and would have “fallen through the cracks” academically. He helps my parents, as well as has a part time job in a local restaurant, as a dishwasher and kitchen help. He would like to attend the nearby technical school, taking welding. I haven’t looked into it yet, so I don’t know how challenging it will be for him, academically.

As I mentioned, my parents live just around the corner. They are 88, and are both retired church school teachers. Both have health issues. Mom has asthma, COPD (even though she’s never smoked), arthritis, and Lewey Body Dementia. Dad was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes 30+ years ago, and it’s really taken a toll on his body the past few years. He’s been on dialysis for 3-4 years now. Oh, yeah, they both have pacemakers, too.

As you can imagine, with caring for my parents, it makes it challenging for SJ to accomplish much in the line of academics. We work on it when we can.

As I indicated at the beginning of this post: if you’re just beginning this homeschool journey, and the end seems far, far away, it really isn’t. It may seem like you’re suspended in time right now, but you’ll reach the end before you know it…and most likely, before you’re actually ready for it.

I am hoping to begin sharing consistently here some of my thoughts, musings, maybe even advice and suggestions, with you. I hope you’ll check back in often. Until next time!