My Children are School Age.
Mr. Doodle and I Work Full Time.
Those are Givens.
So the Girls Attend the Local Schools.
But with School Rankings and Testing and Drama…the Pull of Maybe-I-Should-Do-Homeschooling Still Hits Me Hard and Gnaws at My Soul.
There is So Much I Could Offer the Girls. Reading Adventures. Art. Music. Story Telling.
And Just Being Together.
It Took Me a Long Time to be a Mom. I Don’t Want to Miss Any Part of Their Childhood.
But Homeschooling Isn’t to Be.
Which Brings Us to the New School Year. High School. Yikes – Already!
Miss Doodle Asked if She Could Attend a Particular School. A Charter School. A-Rating.
It Offers Humanities and Community Outreach and It Seemed Like a Good Fit.
She Got In. She is Committed. She is Excited.
We’re Off and Running.
So Here’s the Helicopter Mom Part of the Story…
My Office Window Just So Happens to Look Down on that School. I Know…Right?!
From Ten Floors Up , I Hear the School Bells Ring.
I Can Steal a Moment and Glance Out the Window to the School Below.
Today I Happened Upon a Gym Class and Realized that the One Girl Playing Basketball was My Daughter.
Long Ponytail Flying. Fast. Smart. Agile. A Ballerina Basketball Player.
Running and Leaping. Shooting and Staying Focused on the Game.
My Daughter.
School Ends at 3:30.
Each Day, at 3:30, I watch Her Leave the Campus.
Quick…there she is in the Cross Walk…
My Colleagues Tease Me – Hey Helicopter Mom – But I Don’t Care.
She Crosses the Streets to Go to the Doodle T Office in my building.
Just Down the Hall from Me.
We Take a Moment to Chat About Her Day. Have a Snack. Giggle and Laugh.
Office-Schooling. Helicopter Mom-ing.
We Laugh Together At It All.
My Heart Soars and Soars.
This is a Good Fit. Filled with Magic.
4 in 15 Challenge Summer Harvest
very cute! I hope you are always smiling, looking out that window now. 🙂
Kailani – I am…just took a peek now…All Quiet on the Western Front…which, by the way, is the novel she has to read…”This book is more boring than Treasure Island!”…oh that kid.
So glad it is working out well for all of you! Cannot tell you how many times I said I wished I could be a fly on the wall when it came to seeing how the girls were doing. It’s sort of the same concept.
Exactly…but the funniest part for me is that she is OK with me watching…love that kid. 🙂
Thanks!
The helicopter reference is great especially by the POV pix
This won’t get old…:)
I LOVE this post. I’m a helicopter mom and I have no qualms about admiting it. But I’m also a bad mom. I’m a Helicopter bad mom! The thought of home schooling never entered into my mind because it is incredibly important to me to socialize kids. If they stayed home all day with me during the school year, they would learn to curse in French and bake crazy good desserts. But math and science? I suck. But I loved to hover at school. At games. At the boys’ sporting events. At Oona’s Irish Dance classes and competitions. Any time at all. In fact, two of them arrive tomorrow. (Oldest is in Rio at the Olympics–working!) I’ve already started baking and have preparations for their favorite meals. Hover. Hover Hover!
I swear, you are incredibly lucky to be across the street from your daughter’s school. You need a set of binoculars. Oh yes you do!
Ha Catherine – You made me laugh out loud. You are right too…I want to believe I’d be a great homeschool teacher but I know I’d be yelling my head off and getting frustrated and wanting them to do the best they can do. It’s better they’re in school for all parties. Yes and for the socialization and the competition and having them make their own way. Binoculars…hmmm…didn’t think of that. How fun to have your kids back home for a visit – enjoy them…I see how fast this all goes. 🙂