| Author | |
Diane
Forum Pro
Joined: Feb 01 2006
Location: Ohio
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 371
|
| Posted: May 23 2006 at 11:23am | IP Logged
|
 |
|
Yesterday, a friend of mine (one of my two IRL friends---the other one is moving!  ) came over to look through some of my hsing books. She spent several yrs hsing her older boys, using mostly Seton and Kolbe, and next year she will be starting over with her 7 and 8yo girls, who have been in private schools until now. I’m so excited to have her join me on this journey.
Of course, right away I introduced her to my friend Elizabeth and my favorite book about educating children, Real Learning---perhaps some of you have heard of it.  Then I took her to the Mater Amabilis website, where she met Michele and Kathryn and all of their inspiring ideas. Her response was, “They offer all of this for free?!” “I know, amazing.”
We discussed the merits of read alouds, and she mentioned wanting to read the Little House books with her kids this year. I said, “Of course, but even better are the Martha and Charlotte years, written by my friend Lissa.” My friend is planning a family trip to Scotland this summer so I loaned her my Martha books. (I must admit with a guilty conscience that I did not even consider loaning out Real Learning  ---but I promise I will order her a new copy.)
I would have introduced her to Cay too, if my copy of Catholic Mosaic had arrived yet. (I’m sure Margot did not appreciate my wait-til-the-absolute-last-minute-possible pre-order, but I sure do appreciate her gracious and speedy response.) And I plan to bring my friend to these boards and the Real Learning blogroll too, so that she can meet and be inspired by the rest of you, but I didn’t want to overload her too much on the first day.
She left me with a set of cassettes from the Minnesota Catholic conference which she attended in 2001. Last night I opened it to see if I recognized any names: Ray Guarendi, Andrew Pudewa, and … oh my goodness, MacBeth Derham, “Stress-Free Science, the Charlotte Mason Way.” I had to laugh---it appears she has already met one of my RL friends. I’m pretty sure I heard this talk in person a few yrs ago at NACHE, and I really look forward to listening to it again.
I hope you all don’t mind my considering you---and introducing you---as my friends. I haven’t been giving myself as much computer time lately, in a feeble attempt to bring some much needed order to my life, and I feel myself slipping back into lurkerdom. I don’t want that to happen because I really need this community, and I find it so much richer when I’m an active member. I’ll try really hard to reach out a bit more. 
Somehow just knowing you makes me feel a whole lot smarter and more capable.
Merci, mes amies. 
__________________
Peace,
Diane
Mom to five fair lasses and one bonny prince
The Journey of a Mother's Heart
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
Mary G
Forum All-Star
Joined: Feb 07 2005
Location: Virginia
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 5790
|
| Posted: May 23 2006 at 12:34pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
Diane -- this was a wonderful post! Thanks for writing it! This is exactly how I feel. It can be hard when you met sing friends who really do "school at home" -- they seem to be missing so much.
Thank GOODNESS I too have this outlet of friends -- those for whom I get up early to red their messages to I'm "charged for the day".....
All of us deserve a warm and cozy hug! 
__________________
MaryG
3 boys (22, 12, 8)2 girls (20, 11)
my website that combines my schooling, hand-knits work, writing and everything else in one spot!
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
JennGM
Forum Moderator
Joined: Feb 07 2005
Location: Virginia
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 17702
|
| Posted: May 23 2006 at 2:49pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
Mary G wrote:
Diane -- this was a wonderful post! Thanks for writing it! This is exactly how I feel. ...Thank GOODNESS I too have this outlet of friends -- those for whom I get up early to red their messages to I'm "charged for the day".....
All of us deserve a warm and cozy hug! |
|
|
I agree with Mary, great post!...I'm not hsing yet, but I have so much inspiration here. And you do tend to think of the ladies here as close friend even though they aren't IRL.
__________________
Jennifer G. Miller
Wife to  & ds1  '03 & ds2  '07
Family in Feast and Feria
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
Mary G
Forum All-Star
Joined: Feb 07 2005
Location: Virginia
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 5790
|
| Posted: May 23 2006 at 4:10pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
Pardon my ignorance (or maybe, slow brain) but what is IRL?
__________________
MaryG
3 boys (22, 12, 8)2 girls (20, 11)
my website that combines my schooling, hand-knits work, writing and everything else in one spot!
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
MaryM
Board Moderator
Joined: Feb 11 2005
Location: Colorado
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 13104
|
| Posted: May 23 2006 at 4:34pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
Mary G wrote:
| Pardon my ignorance (or maybe, slow brain) but what is IRL? |
|
|
IRL - In Real Life
__________________
Mary M. in Denver
Our Domestic Church
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
Erin
Forum Moderator
Joined: Feb 23 2005
Location: Australia
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 5814
|
| Posted: May 23 2006 at 8:39pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
Diane
This expresses how I feel so well. I have to stop myself from quoting my forum friends all the time to my IRL friends.
As for the children and dh they 'hear' from my forum frinds all the time.
__________________
Erin
Faith Filled Days
Seven Little Australians
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
Dawnie
Forum All-Star
Joined: Aug 30 2005
Location: Kansas
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 841
|
| Posted: May 23 2006 at 11:45pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
Erin wrote:
Diane
This expresses how I feel so well. I have to stop myself from quoting my forum friends all the time to my IRL friends.
|
|
|
Me, too! It seems like I'm always telling my IRL friends about the latest thread on "my homeschooling forum"! I'm sure they think I do nothing but surf the Internet!
Dawn
__________________
Mom to Mary Beth (99), Anna (02), Lucia (04), Clara (06), and Adelaide Victoria (2/28/09)
Visit my blog!Water Into Wine:Vino Per Tutto!
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
Leonie
Forum All-Star
Joined: Jan 28 2005
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 2831
|
| Posted: May 24 2006 at 2:33am | IP Logged
|
|
|
It is a lovely post - thank you for sharing!
And you know what - most of my homeschooling friends are internet friends - not friends IRL. I am always talking about this friend or that - and then realise that we have never really met in person.
__________________
Leonie in Sydney
Living Without School
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
Dawn
Forum All-Star
Joined: June 12 2005
Location: Massachusetts
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 3191
|
| Posted: May 24 2006 at 4:09am | IP Logged
|
|
|
Diane, I love your post, and it expresses so well how I feel about this community. Here I am, coffee in hand, at 5 a.m., eager to find out what you all are saying and thinking before I even start my day. Like Mary said, it charges me for the day. 
My in-laws were here over the weekend and my dh - proud sweetie that he is - could not restrain himself from booting up the computer and showing off my blogs AND this board. He was telling them all about how much support, encouragment and friendship I get from you all here. He gets it. I know he loves it that I have you all.
You know how in real life you join a HS support group and there are one or two people you connect with and end up doing things with on a regular basis? Well, I like to think that if we all lived in one town we would quickly find each other and be IRL friends.
__________________
Dawn, mum to 3 boys
By Sun and Candlelight
The Nature Corner
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
4Real Forums : Tea and Conversation
Topic: Not what you know, but who you know...
