Social networks are a waste of my time

This really isn't news to me and it probably isn't news to anyone else either. I use Facebook to try to stay in touch with people because for some reason most people aren't interested in staying in touch by any other means. I've tried to get away from Facebook before and communicate with people on a more human level; writing emails, making phone calls. It just seems like no one is interested. The truth is, I'm the kind of person who doesn't have a friends list 500 people long. The people on my friends list for the most part are people with whom I have some sort of past, whether brief or long. Typically they are people who I care about to some degree, and care to share my life with and keep in touch. The problem is, I become increasingly frustrated when, despite any efforts on my part to really connect and share with other people, I don't get a whole lot back. Wait, before you jump to conclusions and tell me "well, Facebook really isn't the place for anything deep or personal.." understand that I am essentially a nomad. As a military family we move around…A LOT. For this particular reason it is very hard to build up a local group of friends you get to see in person and actually hang out with. Couple that with the fact that I am not an outgoing person and have trouble making friends to begin with…and I'm a stay at home mom who homeschools, my life can get pretty darn lonely. I'm not saying I use Facebook to share the deep down personal stuff. I don't even necessarily share that much at all. But what I do share usually matters to me, and I suppose my reasoning is that maybe it would matter a little to the people who I love, too. The truth is, most of my own family doesn't even bother, much less people who I have considered to be friends. The truth is, Facebook just ends up making me feel depressed. It may seem silly. Maybe it is silly. Anyway, I am quitting Facebook again for a while…maybe for a long while. The people who really care will bother to try to keep in touch. I guess the rest never cared much to begin with, so I'm not missing much am I? 

Some thoughts on my homeschool

Recently, school has been an utter drag.  I haven't even wanted to get up in the morning to face the day because I know there will be complaining and tears and fighting and every step of the way just seems like that.  I've come to a realization, after looking around the inter webs and finding other moms who feel JUST like me in the same situation.  I've been trying to make Nathan measure up.  I've been trying to force him into a mould with his "peers," overly structuring things, trying to duplicate what I think "they" are doing in Kindergarten elsewhere.  I've been trying to meet some standard because I thought that was what I was supposed to do.  Have him reading by 6, writing by the end of Kindergarten…the list goes on.  Why am I doing this?  It seems so silly to me, when I step back and really take a look.  The whole reason I chose to homeschool was to allow my children to learn at their pace, to come into their own on their time with my love and support and encouragement.  How I've been doing things up until now has made me feel like a failure, and no doubt has made Nathan feel the same way.  But the truth is, I am not a failure, and Nathan is a very smart, curious and wonderful little boy.  He doesn't have to measure up to anyone, and neither do I.  It seems simple enough, so why is it a constant struggle to remind myself of this…to not compare and measure and wonder.  No more.  I want my children to love learning.  I want to enjoy exploring with them, seeing them understand things for the first time, watching them reach goals of their own, not someone else's.  Structure never really works for a 5 year old anyway, and certainly not a 3 year old!  What was I thinking?  I found this blog post which made me feel immensely better about it all http://simplehomeschool.net/help-my-5-year-old-wont-do-school/   I am not alone, and I can do this.  I will be confident and I will succeed, and so will my kiddos because they are allowed to have their own timeline.  There is no one-size-fits-all.  I just have to make sure I don't lose sight of that!