Homeschooling Means...#17

...having the following awkward conversation:

We were at the library after school.  We have daughters the same age.

Public schooling friend: "Suzy only has to do one page of math homework-front and back-a night.  So it's not that bad.  But some nights it takes her forever!  Like an hour and a half!  It's not that the math is too hard for her, it's just that homework time is such a fight for us!"

Me: "Oh, I know.  That's gotta be hard.  Math is sometimes no fun."

-lull in conversation- 

Me: (Trying to think of something to say to show I can relate to her.) "I let my girls do their work in any order during the week.  So they have a set amount of math pages and I don't care when they complete them.  Last week Secundus decided to procrastinate and leave all her math until Friday!  Boy, was she regretting that!"

PS friend: (Polite smile.) "Yeah."

I love that my public schooling friends don't seem to feel awkward talking about their kids' school experience -the good and the bad- in front of me!  But sometimes I just don't know what to say in response.  Or, at least, I'm not good at thinking of good things to say in the moment.  Our experiences really don't match up sometimes!

(This series is meant to be mostly lighthearted and fun.  Some may be serious, but most will be silly, braggy, or of the keepin'-it-real variety.  Not every homeschool is the same.  And some of these things could be said by public school parents.  This is just to highlight MY experience with MY homeschool and MY children.  Enjoy these little insights into our life and feel free to share your own "Homeschooling means..." in the comments!)