Collin - burying a Star Wars guy 
Finding Fossils
I have great kids!
Yesterday was beautiful. The sky was blue, the sun was out, and you didn't need a coat! The kids were all anxious to go out and play. Who to play with? Nobody! It's not that we don't live in a child-filled neighborhood, 'cause we do. There are plenty of kids around. Actually, it is pretty lopsided as far as boy to girl ratio. I'd say it's a 4:1 ratio around here which leaves slim pickin's for my girls. The few girls there are, have been pretty well - indoctrinated with pop culture garbage.This puts me and my kids in a real bind. Should we take the "beggars can't be choosers" mentality or do we hold our ground and avoid the uncomfortable moments and awkward questions we are so often faced with when we mingle with the "locals"? We really are "different" than most people we live near. A simple illustration of this is what I call the "Brittney Spears Test" Ask a child "Hey do you know of or have you ever heard of Brittney Spears?" and see what response you get. Most girls in this neighborhood range from "ya I just love her..." to "Ya, I know her. But I really like Hillary Duff!" My kids on the other hand look totally bewildered and shrug their shoulders saying "No, I don't know. Who is she?"
For the most part the boys around here are typical ball-playing dirt digging boys. Great! But, it's the girls in our culture that have done the most radical changing. Bishop Sheen says so many times that women "set the tone" or decide the standard for a whole culture to follow and so....It's slim pickin's around here.
My kids want to play hard. They want to get dirty and sweaty and laugh loudly. They are joyful, curious, and innocent! They are - KIDS! - as they should be! Morgan and Mary both cried yesterday. They asked me why they don't have any friends. They wanted to know why they have to be "different". It's hard for them. it's hard for me. But, I'm a grown-up. I can intellectually take comfort in my choices and sacrifices and get past the hurt of seeming like "odd man out". For a nine year old and a seven year old it just plain ol' hurts! We take part in a home school group but these families live 20-40 minute drives away. On days like yesterday we want to just run out the back door into our large yard with swings and trampoline and toys and just have fun without "planning a play date" It seems that this scenario isn't possible.
That means that my kids have to be just that much more creative. Yesterday they decided to dig for fossils in our dirt piles. Morgan was looking for maybe some relics - a bone fragment from a saint...Mary search for dinosaur bones....Collin buried his Star Wars action figures and then dug them up again and again and again....Monica watched them all with curiosity and great delight! I sat at our patio table and reflected. At times it's a tough road I've chosen to take - I pray to God that He will help to heal my little ones' hearts of this loneliness and that
we ALL will be stronger, better people for it!
3 comments:
My kids are 5, 3 and 1, all with birthdays coming up soon.
We're north of Chicago.
Where are you?
we are southwest of Joliet. There are tons of catholic families out this way. But, we are fairly new to the area (3yrs) and so it's been difficult to hook up with like-minded people. What do you do? Take out an ad in the paper? Wanted: Other PRACTICING Catholic families to share some laughs and be social with...must have sense of humor and NOT be fixated on "Vatican II". We are part of a homeschool group that has wonderful families in it but it's not a "perfect match" for us. Most of the families adhere to a "social code" that we are not comfortable with ie long skirts for girls and women(no jeans ever!), veils in church, no pop or rock music, and limited tv. We RESPECT this completely, but we ourselves are more of a Van Halen listening, Seinfeld watching, Old Navy wearing, Jesus Loving, statue having, JPII FANS kind of family.
I find myself driving my suburban loaded with kids, with my JPII bumper sticker about abortion,and a rosary on the mirror, wearing my old navy maternity shirt, a pair of flip flops and listening to a Nickleback song on the radio with the volume cranked all the way up, thinking who in the heck is like you Kris? - Nobody! You are nuts woman! Thank God Jesus loves me!
Kris,
Also remember that homeschooling your kids means that they are learning to be friends as well as siblings. I don't remember whose blog I was reading but she mentioned that one of the benefits of having done so was that all her kids were close to each other and not someone to deride/abuse/whatever in front of their "peers". I am hoping my kids will be like that. My sisters are not close to me (physically or emotionally) and I really wish they were. When you don't have many choices being able to rely on your siblings can really help. God bless!
Regular Guy's Wife
Post a Comment