I don't recall where I first saw this quote, but I think it's part of the essense of mothering. Long before our children have the ability to express their thoughts verbally, they know how we feel about them. They know how important they rate with us, or not. They feel our feelings. They see in our faces our thoughts, about them.

Some people wonder, why be a stay-at-home mother? Some people ask, aren't we wasting our time, our potential?

Absolutely not. I know my potential has not gone unfulfilled. I have a dual bachelor's degree. I did work, and had I continued working I'd likely still be in city planning. Is the world okay without another city planner? I think so. But, oh how much I've learned about child development and education, and we're changing the WORLD by homeschooling our little boy! He's going to grow into an exceptionally empathetic and attentive dad. Our goal of course is preparing him for the world of work, yes, but so much more. We devote ourselves to fostering his natural love for learning, developing strong character, and yes, we pray and teach him about God. If he marries a girl who homeschools his children it can only strengthen his family and our society. We hope that by preparing him now for a successful future academically that he will also have the kind of marketable skills that will enable him to raise his own family comfortably on a single income if he so chooses. News flash; a bigger house, another car, cool shoes and having the same toys as everyone else has, is really not what life is all about.

I submit that our potential as homeschooling mothers does not go unfulfilled. The proof is in the well rounded, interesting beings we are rearing, who looks folks of any age in the eye and don't necessarily aspire to grow up to be another Britney Spears. Across the board all studies show that homeschooled kids score well on academic achievement tests. Academic success for our kids is foremost is all homeschoolers' minds, but we're not just thinking of preparing our children for employment and scooting them out the door when they become adults. We homeschooling moms, by homeschooling, are affecting how our children will nurture their future families; the nuclei of society. Talk about potential!

For me, homeschooling is the ultimate extension of mindful mothering. It's living in the moment, grabbing each opportunity as it comes, being in it to the fullest. I get to see the wonderment of watching our little boy grow up. It's sometimes difficult to articulate to others, yet I am compelled to try. You want to tell everyone else, "LOOK, look, look! Don't you see it!" And the neighbor children say to me, "Why don't you work? How much money do you make? Why don't you babysit?"

Like their parents, they just don't see.