A few times a year it gets kinda crazy around here and I start to lose focus on why we do this to ourselves. Yes, I am talking about home schooling our 10 kids.
I could just send the kids off the local public school or the local charter school. Once, (2009) I even tried a k12 program thinking that it would solve the chaos. That was a big mistake.
So here we go..."Why do we home school?" or better yet, "Why are we Catholic and home schooling?' That silly question comes to visit at least 4-5 times a year, typically just before Spring arrives.
Our philosophical conclusion came down to this; We are not home schooling to shield our children from the ugliness of the world, but to prepare and arm them with their faith to live in this world so that they will one day, through God's grace, be with Him in Heaven forever.
Now I am not saying that I purposely expose my kids to all the ugliness the world has to offer. No, I do my very best to expose them to the beauty of their faith, how to avoid sin, and if they happen to sin, that we have this wonderful church that has this wonderful sacrament called Reconciliation, and most amazingly that Christ not only forgives us, but he waits for us every day to receive Him at the altar, our precious Mass.
When my oldest son was about 7 years old we took a trip to Long Beach, California. On that awesome sunny day we took a walk downtown to a local burger joint. On our way there I noticed two dudes holding hands. I prayed that my son wouldn't notice, but being the observant kid that he was, he noticed. My mind sprung back in time, like a flash to when my husband's high school Vietnamese friend told us that in Vietnam, some members of the same sex, sometimes hold hands while walking.(It's true, look it up.) Bam! I was saved from having to go into detail right then and there to explain what was going on right in front of us. I simply gave this explanation and he was satisfied. At least this was sufficient for his understanding at 7 years old.
This topic didn't come up again till he was 12. At this time a few of the neighborhood kids started calling each other "gay" or would otherwise use it as an adjective like. "Dude, your shirt looks gay." At this point I felt he was old enough to hear the truth. So I explained that "gay" has two meanings, one to be cheerful and the other was a term used to describe a homosexual person. You can imagine his embarrassment and that word was not heard from again.
Now, don't get me wrong I am not a homo-phobe, nor do I teach my children to be either. (When I was a teen mother, my only true friend was a homosexual teen, who used to carry all my books for me during my third trimester while I attended high school, David still love ya honey!) I simply want them to speak gracefully, keeping in mind that God is who we should aim to please with our language, our bodies, and how we express ourselves.
Now, of course I don't look forward to these moments when I have to explain how the world works, but its my job. God give me the grace to do it in a pleasing way to Him and I still always pray that my child's innocence is preserved.
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