On being homeschooled

I was homeschooled most of my school age years until 8th grade. When I was in elementary school I never had to ride the bus or eat at the cafateria. I didn't know what "mistery meat" was actually until high school. See, when I was a youngie, I didn't understand the importance of the name brand of your clothes. I wore crazy bright tshirts with polka dot stirrup pants and a colorado rockies hat or bandana. I would wear the same tank top for three days because it was hot pink. I loved neon green and my glasses were huge. I had buck teeth and long stringy blonde hair. I was obsessed with horses and lisa frank. I was free to be me. I had my own world. I never had to wake up before 8am. I didn't get picked on or worry about being cool. Cool was what I liked. I didn't know what I was missing, and I didn't care.

Home School wasn't really school it was straight learning, reading, tests. There was no bull shit. It took 5hours, usually with lunch at the end. My Mom was so great. After teaching my brother and I school, she made us what we liked for lunch, everyday. We got fish sticks, mac n cheese, tomato soup, grilled cheese, carrots, peas, and katchup. These were the food groups.. and icees. Just not at home. My brother and I spent a lot of time together. We had tons of legos and would construct citys. We played restaurant with play doh. He was always subject to my ideas. I would make the food, serve him the food, and lie about why it tasted the way it did. I got to do art projects with plaster and clay. I loved it.

In the early afternoon I would usually ride my bike to danielles house. She was homeschooled too. I would pack up art supplies, my latest project, a new toy horse and put it in a grocery bag to take along. On occasion my brother would come to hang out with her brother. We would watch movies while it was very hot in the day as to avoid dieing. Danielle and I loved musicals like All dogs go to heaven, The sound of music, and Mary Poppins. We watched lots of Disney (pre Michael Eisner). When cool enough we wouldn't melt or evaporate, we would go outside. On regular days I went fishing and Danielle would watch. We walked over slimed rocks in jones creek to get snowcones.

We rode our bikes and made stories up about the people who lived in the other houses. We talked about the few people we actually knew in the neighborhood. We talked about soap operas, even though we didn't watch them. The lots next to her house were empty and the grasses would grow very tall. we playe hide ad seek our brothers and made paths. we named them things like "Danielle Dr.". We pretended animals lived in our trails we sculpted from the grass while we were away. We talked about nature and dug for her. I collected rocks and sticks. We used to make corrals for all of my briar horses. I loved flowers and leaves. The lake by our house was fascinating. I caught minnows and other creatures. I learned about them. It was real and it was fun.

On very hot days, when we were banished from Danielles house so her mother could clean, she and I did slip and slide down the "Louisiana hill" in her yard. Slip and slide was essentially just a large yellow tarp with a sprinkler aimed at it. One day I sprained my left ankle very badly and my parents came to get me. I remember thinking A) I was totally going to die and B) her mom was making canned tuna with whitebeans and rice and I kinda wanted to go home anyway.

Being homeschooled was, I imagine, very different. I never went to a 'regular' elementary and middle school. I didn't play hop scotch in the school yard. So I cannot tell you really. When I did eventually go back, years later in 8th grade, people let me know how strange it really was. Everyone asked about it like I was from a foreign country. They wanted to know what I did. If I got an education. All kinds of things. Really though, I was able to really be me. I got to spend time doing lots and lots of art. I admired and enjoyed my mother. I still admire and enjoy my mother. My brother and I have more childhood memories together. Danielle and I are still friends. She's pretty much my sister. Yes, it was so very different being homeschooled. I could never to do it for my kids. Bless my mother, she was very patient. I truely enjoy my childhood memories. I feel I was blessed enough to have extra good ones. I was also blessed enough to grow up and be myself. I made my own trends and developed my own ideas. I wrote. I drew. I painted. I learned to do things I still do today. Like, I learned to love animals and so, I simply stopped eating them. If I went to regular school, it wouldn't have happened. I had the time to nurture myself when I was a child. It was wonderful.