Spittin' Image

So, as you might imagine, home schooling a high schooler has added a bit of a twist to our lives. I admit to many moments of trepidation wondering whether we are really doing the best by our oldest. We have encountered resistance by well-meaning people who have wondered how I can give Madeleine all she needs. And rightly so. Madeleine is an incredibly bright and talented young lady. A star really. She deserves the best. And of course, there are a variety of opinions as to what that means.

As for me, I have stuck to my guns about keeping her at home. Between the experience of a tough year last year and the fact that we still have our house on the market, I have felt that the best for her academically and otherwise was to stay closer to home this year. And so we enrolled her in a very challenging Catholic homeschool program in which she will read books I have never laid eyes on and somehow complete classes like Biology and Geometry, hopefully without the expense of a tutor.

I have worried. Will she be bored and wanting to enroll in the local high school after day five? Will she be lazy and not learn what she should? Will we drive each other crazy after a week?

The thing is though, despite the doubts and the fact that I know that this, like everything in my life, will be done imperfectly, I am so grateful to have this time with her. She is wonderful. Despite what you might have heard about teens in general, our teen is 100% delightful. Well, okay, maybe 95%. We all have our moments. Today, she went on a quick outing with her Grandma and came back with a treat for the rest of us bought with her own money. That is Madeleine. How on earth did I end up with the privilege of being her Mama? All I can say is that of all our daughters, she is the one I look at and see myself--except maybe a sweeter version. She and I are very alike. Sometimes that's hard. Mostly though, I remember that I come from a long line of very smart and strong women and Madeleine is the spittin' image of all of them. A credit to them. What a proud Mama that makes me.