"I am glad I am homeschooled."

I had a lot of things flowing in my head unable to find the time to get the ideas from my head to this white surface. I have really been trying to be purposeful about what I share. Then, the horrible tragedy at Sandy Hook happened. When I woke up from my nap (I was asleep when it happened), the first words from my daughter's mouth were, "I am glad I am homeschooled. I don't ever want to go to a public school again."
I don't share that because homeschooling is the answer for everyone, believe me it is hard work. I don't share that because I feel we are somehow safe, I know tragedy can happen anywhere to anyone. I share her words only because they were her words in response to the saddening news (she was literally crying about it). I struggled with sharing her words, and keep coming back to them.
While I am glad she expressed those feelings, and feels bad for the families, I know there will come a point those feelings will fade. At some point, most of America will forget the tragedy, and only remember it when it is brought up later. This tragedy will change several families forever, but not all of us. At some point the same old family arguments will happen throughout the country, we will forget just how quickly things can change.
I struggled sharing anything on the tragedy because I struggle with the why. I don't understand why no matter what your issue is with your parents or your mental issues, why take that out on innocence. So many innocent lives have been taken, and blame is placed on so many things. Why did this happen?
This morning I heard Mike Huckabee say (I will quote as best I can), "How can we hope to have a moral society in a Godless vacuum?" How true. No matter how little sense we will ever make of this tragedy, I have to remember this Godless vacuum so many are pushing for is one of the reasons I always wanted to homeschool. How can anyone expect children to have a heart for others if they are in a electronic induced fantasy world filled with selfishness and slaughter? No, that is not a slam on video games in entirety. However, so many parents allow video games, television, computers, and public school to take the place of any sort of family time.
Why do we homeschool? Yes it is because we drive a truck, but so much more. We homeschool because I have long believed this education system is failing our children. I believe the cliches that I remember only in middle and high school have invaded the elementary schools and with it the sexual promiscuity that does not belong. We homeschool because we want to be together. We homeschool for these reasons and so many more. Every day we are reminded of why we do this, and become more thankful we do.
While my daughter can be hugged daily, so can most others. Hug your children. Teach them to be moral. Spend time with them. Pray with them. Pray for them. There are families who cannot do these things any longer. The most important thing we can ever give our children is our time, and they deserve more of our time and our prayers.