This time of year, children are preparing to head back to school and parents are busy getting them ready. Every time that we attend playgroup or playdates, the other moms are talking about preschool. They are discussing which preschool their children will be attending, where to find the best nap mats, and making plans to meet up once a week while the kids are in school. Throughout these conversations, I sit silent and feel left out. Don't get me wrong; I love homeschooling Abigail and believe that it is the right choice for my family at this time. However, since we homeschool year-round, there is not a start to our school year. I don't get to go on special shopping trips to find new clothes, backpacks, and crayons for the girls. I don't get to attend Meet the Teacher nights or think about what fun things I will do for myself while the girls are in school. Life just goes on as normal for us. I am beginning to realize how different we are from our friends. Choosing to homeschool makes us different in more ways than just how we are educating our children; it is a lifestyle choice. It means that our family will not be able to relate to many of the experiences of our friends and they won't be able to relate to our schooling. I won't be the PTA president or the room mother. Instead, I will be my children's teacher. While this is a wonderful thing, it was not my vision for my future and I am having a hard time with the realization that I will sometimes feel left out of the "typical" parenting experiences.
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