A Return Home

Yesterday we talked about the drawbacks of working at home. Today, I want to discuss the benefits. While working from home is not an easy task there are many different things that are real pluses for the person who decides to try their hand at it.

I mentioned yesterday that my friend had done a poll of people who work at home. There should be no surprise that the response was greater as to the benefits of working at home. You can read the responses to her poll here.

I know that since I have left the corporate world, I have been much happier. I can’t imagine working any other way. I would never go back to working in a corporate office, no matter how hard some days may be.

What are some of the reasons that you can think of to work at home? Can you think of any that weren’t discussed at the poll? Leave a comment below and let’s discuss it!

There are several different reasons that people decide to work from home. It should never be considered an easy task, although there are definitely many benefits. I know that for me, the reasons can vary from day to day. I love my job and what I do, but sometimes it can be frustrating when you are trying to accomplish you work and nothing seems to be getting done.

A friend of mine did a poll among people who work from home and she listed the many different things that they said. Today we will cover the drawbacks and tomorrow we will cover the pros so we leave things on a positive note. You can read the replies to this part of the poll here.

Don’t ever try to tell me that working at home is easy. It is difficult. But I wouldn’t trade it for anything! What are some of the drawbacks that you can think of about working from home? Can you think of some that weren’t mentioned? Leave a comment and let’s discuss it.

This morning we started a quiet morning in our homeschool. We were getting our work done and enjoying our safe haven. The radio was playing softly in the background and we had all of the indications of a really good school day. Then we heard an announcement that was labeled as “Breaking News”.

Apparently, some kid in a Jr. High in our area decided to text message someone and threaten to use a gun on them. The school immediately notified the police after they received the information and a notice was sent out across the airwaves. The school acted promptly and that was good, but here is my problem…

They did NOT place the school in lock-down. However, parents were NOT allowed to take their children home because they hadn’t been there long enough to get credit from the state in order for the school to receive funds. Are you kidding me??!! They just sold out all of the kids for some money. I am sorry, but if the school is NOT in a lock-down mode and my kid was inside where some kid was threatening someone else with a potential gun, no school is going to keep me from taking my kid home. Oh wait…I already did that.

This is another of the reasons that I am homeschooling my son. We don’t have to worry about lock-downs or lock-down drills. When you have a kid with Asperger’s, it can be quite traumatic to have a lock-down drill, especially the way our school district does them. No thank you. I know he is safe and happy right where he is in our home. He can learn without worrying about some crazy kid shooting up the place.

While we are on the subject, my mother was telling me about a lock-down in her community recently. There was a drug bust in process, so the school went into lock-down mode. That is fine. They need to protect the kids. However, here is my problem with that one…

The business where my mother works was hosting a field trip. When the school went into lock-down mode, the business had to also since there were students on the premises. No one could enter the business or leave and they had to entertain and babysit a bunch of kids in a locked store because the school was in a lock-down. When did schools gain the right to shut down a business?

I am sitting here wondering if our schools have gained too much control over our children. What do you think? Are they out of control or within their rights? What about the rights of the businesses and the parents? Leave me a comment and tell me how you feel about this.

Photo provided by: Kevin Rosseel

Today was a good day. We got a lot of school work done today and I was able to accomplish what I needed to for work. It is days like today that I am happy that we are doing what we are doing. I am not stressed. Things are running smoothly. I am smiling.

However, not everyday is like today. Sometimes it is very hard. It seems as if nothing gets accomplished, no matter how hard I am trying. Chaos seems to reign. Things look bleak and I am weary. The boy seems to be on edge during these days. One of us surely must break. Somewhere there is a light that we must strain to see.

It is on those days that I try very hard to remember the days like today. These are the days that get me through the difficult ones. These are the days that make everything worth it. These days are the sunshine in my life, and the light that beckons us onward. I appreciate these days, but only because I have the difficult ones.

The difficult days make me strong. They make the boy strong. They make the good days shine even brighter and our smiles become greater on these days. We even laugh more.

What do you do to make it through the dark days? How do you celebrate the good days? I’d love to hear about it.

Photo provided by: gagemcentire

I am tired. Tired of dumb questions about why I am homeschooling my son. I am tired of people wanting to know when he will return to normal schooling, whatever that is. If the public schools were able to meet his needs, I would not have brought him home. As it is, he has grown so much this past year that he is leaps and bounds ahead of his peers that attend the public school he used to. Why would I want to hold him back? I really can’t think of a reason, can you?

I found this great video about this very subject by A. Hermitt. You can find her website here, which includes a great homeschooling blog. Enjoy! You can watch this great video here.

Photo Provided by: Darren Hester

What was I thinking?!? There are many times I often ask myself this question. Sometimes I ask it several times each day. I had great intentions and visions of family togetherness and closeness when I first thought up my great idea to return home. I naively thought it wouldn’t be too difficult to incorporate a new career from home and oversee the schooling of my son who has Asperger’s. After all, it was just about planning and organization, right? I am a multi-tasker and most women excel at multi-tasking, so it wouldn’t be too difficult, right?

Boy was I wrong! This is the most difficult endeavor I have ever undertaken. It is hard. It is frustrating. There are times I cry. I distinctly remember when the boy figured out I was working as well as teaching him. He decided that I needed to focus all of my efforts on only him. He became an energy sucker. I taught all day and worked all night. I rarely slept. He didn’t care. I was miserable.

So why do I do it? I’m glad you asked. I do it because it is also wonderful. It is fun. It is adventuresome. I even laugh…a lot. I can’t imagine doing it any different now. It is tough at times, but the rewards have become ones that I will not do without. We have family values that we no longer let become compromised day to day.

We have all learned to compromise in order to make it happen. Sometimes my house doesn’t get cleaned. My hubby cooks sometimes. The boy has learned to let me work in the afternoon. He can have my undivided attention in the morning and evening. Sometimes my hubby lets Calgon take me away and I take long baths. Our beagle reminds us to take long walks. We laugh and we play, together as a family.

Working and schooling at home isn’t easy, but it is fulfilling. What are some of the challenges you face since returning home?

Photo provided by: Gabor Karpati