So I have this picture in my mind. Always. Of every scenario. I can see the perfect, and then I can see the worst case scenario. Usually, in my life anyway, what happens in reality falls somewhere in between. So reality is somewhat unknown. And it’s the fear of the unknown that holds me back.
I have to learn to let go. The phrase “Let Go and Let God” often seems so trite. And yet, it’s scary how accurate it is. In our lives as parents, in our careers as business people, in our relationships as friends… If we just would let go of all the fears that are holding us back and just let God direct… Wow. The possibilities are limitless.
I never planned to have a gifted child. I mean, yeah, the smart kid who enjoys school would be a plus. Ya know, a teacher’s pet like I was- high achieving, reach for the stars kinda kid. But gifted? Nope. Never dreamed of it. Because I was too busy imagining the what ifs of having a child with a major learning disability or dreaming of having a kid who floated through school on a cloud.
I never imagined I’d have a three year old who could read. Like genuinely, pick up a brand new book, open it, and read 95% of the words inside. I was too busy worrying I might have a third grader who couldn’t read, or planning how much fun it would be to teach my three year old about shapes and colors and play little matching games to realize what my reality could be.
Some people might think it’s the most proud, bragging sort of thing for me to call a spade a spade and say that Becca is gifted. But that’s because they don’t know. They don’t feel the pain. They don’t see the anguish. They don’t know my fears. They don’t see her tears.
She knows she’s “different.” She is socially aware. She sees the kids her age, and then she sees kids much older, and she knows where her brain belongs vs where her body belongs. She struggles. And because she struggles, I do to.
I wrestle with just letting her do “whatever” and continuing to teach her new things. But I’ve come to a realization. It doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks. She wants to learn. She has a drive and a desire to learn more and more. I have watched this week as she was devistated to realize she doesn’t understand the concept of rhyming… And seen her find every rhyming game on her Kindle, request every Super Why episode that involves rhyming, play her rhyming game, work her rhyming puzzles, and ask me a million times in a day, “Does ____ rhyme with ____?” She WANTS to understand. She WANTS to grasp this concept that has somehow managed to evade her thus far.
Because she wants to learn, I will teach. If it kills me, I will teach her. She may be stubborn. She may be strong willed. She may have sensory issues out the wazoo. But I love her more than any other human in this planet (altho her Daddy comes in an extremely close second!!), and therefore I am more than qualified to teach her. God placed me in every training class in college, every bit of research on my master’s, every student I ever taught in public school- they were all training me for THIS. To be her mom.
(Not to mention Grayson, who seems to be coming right along in her footsteps speaking in two-four word sentences and recognizing a couple of the colors already at 13 months.)
So am I perfect? Heck no. Is this “unschooling homeschool” perfect? Far, far from it. But it WILL be the perfect place for my kids with His help. And we’ll get through every step of the way – whether we be here at home, in a public, in a private, in a charter, or in an online school.
I don’t have this mom thing all figured out. I know I’m a pretty big screw up most days. But I have figured one thing out: I’m in love. The man I married is the most amazing man in the world. And our children are beautiful. These three humans are so precious to me. I can’t imagine life without them. Perfect, worst case scenario, or reality- I’ll take them any way they come.
I look forward to loosely planning our fall and sharing with you as I set up our themes and work with Becca to create our goals! I hope you’ll check in with my Facebook page to stay updated on the latest ideas!!
Butterbees and Bumbleflies 