Why Do You Ask?

This hasn't been the first time someone has asked me if I homeschool. And, every time I am asked that question I always want to ask "why do you ask?"

Saturday afternoon we had a new refrigerator delivered. The delivery guys were taking out the old fridge when one of them said to me "wow, you have your hands full. Do you homeschool?"

For the record, I do not homeschool. Have I considered it? Yes. Even more so these days when I hear of school budget cuts, state mandates, and the always present standardized tests. For the record, I am NOT a fan of standardized tests, but we can discuss that another day.

I would like to think this guy asked because of the book filled shelves in our house. The huge world map, desk and computer in the kid's playroom. And that my children were so excited to watch the whole fridge installation process and were discussing things like the energy conservation of LED lights.

In reality, the question probably came from the mismatched clothing my children were wearing, and that when the two men walked in my kids acted as if they had not had human contact in days. And the shelves filled with books and world map on the wall probably does look a little nerdy.

One of these days I will summon the gumption to ask the questionnaire, "why do you ask, what does a homeschooling mom look like to you?" Because, even though I know several homeschooling moms I'm not sure they look any different then any other mom.