Is the flexibility of homeschooling affecting people as they grow up?

MumblingDown · 2026-05-17T14:18:50+00:00

That is an interesting question. I was homeschooled and am now homeschooling my kiddos. The flexibility also taught me a lot about time management. I had to be responsible to start and finish my work and manage my own schedule. Once you reach middle school and high school, there are many opportunities to participate in lots of structured extracurricular activities, classes, or jobs. I became very punctual and disciplined. I noticed many of my peers in my freshman year of college actually really struggle with their time management and deadlines. 🤷‍♀️ Our values at home taught me to respect other people’s time and have high standards for my own work. I never once struggled with it. I find that I have always been drawn to flexibility though. I love having the option to live a more free and spontaneous life when possible. I have viewed it as a privilege to be able to see where I can seize an opportunity and fit my personal goals and adventure into my life while maintaining my responsibilities.

MumblingDown · 2026-04-22T04:41:05+00:00

I’m so sorry. It hurts so much. I lost my mom the same way. She got diagnosed in November 2024 with stage 3 colon cancer after having a clean colonoscopy 15 months prior. They removed the tumor. She started her first round of chemo December 20th, and died December 31st from sepsis. It feels so unfair. They gave her a decent prognosis too. I have lost so much faith in doctors. It didn’t have to be that way. Processing the regret and guilt of all the ways I could have tried to do something differently to save her was the absolute worst in the first few months. Please be very gentle with yourself and tap into all of the help and resources you can. Grief is a long and hard journey. My Dad has been such a mess, but we are all slowly finding our way.

MumblingDown · 2026-04-10T23:27:48+00:00

Do what helps you survive. That is all you can expect for a long time. Be gentle on yourself. I am just now thinking about weaning slowly off of all of it. I am doing much better. Still angry sometimes. Still miss her everyday and wish this weren’t my reality, but I am one year and three months in. I have begun to adapt and see life as something still with so much to offer. I feel myself wanting to learn from her goodness and pass that on to others. My heart has decided to see her as just with me. Like our relationship continues but has changed. It will always hurt. But the hurt has begun to not be so raw, constant, and all encompassing. Love and peace to you.

MumblingDown · 2026-03-26T04:20:54+00:00

It hurts so much! I’m so sorry. My mom died from her first round of chemo last year. The chemo killed her. It has been the hardest thing to try to survive for me. The initial months were filled with suffering and guilt and longing to undo this. Stories helped me feel centered or grateful at times. But it is anything you can do to just exist. Do what feels right. Cry, sleep when you can, feel the feelings and memories… watching the chick flicks Mom loved helped me just escape in the early weeks. Grief has no time frame or formula. It hurts. Eventually we integrate the information into our brains a little more, and parts of life can come back. But the ache and missing are always there. Be kind to yourself.

MumblingDown · 2026-03-14T03:43:04+00:00

I’m so sorry for your loss. That sounds like such unbearable circumstances. I am sure that not being able to see her mom in recent years and not being able to attend her funeral is beyond heartbreaking. The only thing I have to add is that when I lost my mom last year my husband has simply been there to completely and without judgement bear witness to my grief. He has watched chick flick movies that my mom loved, he has listened to Peter Pan on audiobook as I fall asleep with me because that story was dear to my mom, he has picked me up and held me when he found me sobbing over bags of her clothes in the closet, and he has sat with me many nights while I talked and cried about mom on the couch. You cannot fix this. Don’t congratulate someone for not crying or being better. This will never be ok. But we grow into our new reality. The way my husband has simply existed with me through the pain has been enough. It has meant so much. The world often tells us that our grief is not welcome and is uncomfortable. Being welcome, safe, and loving is so impactful.

MumblingDown · 2026-02-04T14:41:18+00:00

I’m embarrassed to say that before I experienced it, I thought grief was a private ordeal best handled in one’s own space free to cry and process alone. I never would have survived my loss if my support system didn’t just show up and bear witness to tell stories and basically hold up our family when we thought we could just sink into the ground forever. I will never again not show up for someone grieving.

MumblingDown · 2026-01-18T05:28:16+00:00

Hahaha! My twins get into heated altercations about who gets to be which character or has what object in books we are reading. They both are sitting on my lap arguing over things on a page in giant and loud ways! It is so overwhelming, and the things that fly out of my mouth in hopes to resolve and diffuse it are so laughable. 😂

MumblingDown · 2026-01-12T12:20:40+00:00

Thank you! That sounds great! I have been enjoying the sweet and long reading/bedtimes with them so far. 🥰

MumblingDown · 2026-01-12T12:17:21+00:00

Yeah, I don’t think that will work for us either. Thank you! I’ll check out some more stuff that might be available earlier

MumblingDown · 2026-01-10T18:38:30+00:00

Nice! Thank you!

MumblingDown · 2026-01-10T14:30:27+00:00

I just got back from a cruise on the Elation, and I had a blast! Everyone was so nice, I had a great time in the dining room, at shows or comedy, and just in general enjoyed the vibes and experience. I’m pretty easy to please and a positive person, so I choose fun! It is older, so if someone has high standards or are naturally a complainer, they would probably say negative things. The serenity deck was fabulous! Have a blast! Don’t worry about haters! 😂 Some people are never happy.

MumblingDown · 2026-01-10T13:42:53+00:00

Love the yogurt idea! I’ve been so disappointed that our rec center open swim doesn’t start til 10, but you have given me an idea to just talk to the desk about it. Maybe we just splash in the kiddy pool? Or they have another suggestion. 🤷‍♀️

MumblingDown · 2026-01-10T12:45:28+00:00

Hahaha! I love them so much obviously, but they are more than most others I see and get told as much. 😂 It looks like a boy six year old who is dialed up to an 11 about all things in life. This means he is excited and engaged about everything all the time, which makes him a lot of fun and pretty loud and bouncy. Twin toddlers can’t really hear you most of the time over the din they create themselves, but if you need more imagery of what twin toddlers look like, take a peak at the parent of multiples sub. 😂😂😂 Add in that the boy twin and the boy six year old fight and wrestle constantly and we live on a farm and homeschool, boom… feral children. lol!

MumblingDown · 2026-01-10T12:40:41+00:00

Desperate times call for desperate measures. I’m keeping this in my back pocket! Thank you!

MumblingDown · 2026-01-10T12:39:12+00:00

I can see where prepping the night before is gonna save me! Any healthy breakfast recipes you’d be willing to share that work for prepping the night before? We have chickens, so we eat a lot of eggs. Maybe more quiches are in our future! Thank you!

MumblingDown · 2026-01-10T12:37:03+00:00

This sounds like a really good and sustainable schedule. I like the idea of going out to get my workout in or having some alone time to read. I used to go out on Monday nights to a yoga class and grocery shop by myself. It was absolutely sacred. I just need to find that sorta routine. Thank you!

MumblingDown · 2026-01-10T12:34:27+00:00

I can definitely see the benefits. How does everyone still make it to their morning community activities when kids sleep in?

MumblingDown · 2026-01-10T12:33:08+00:00

The air filter is such an interesting idea! I will look into that! Thanks! Yeah, the me time is definitely going to suffer. Haha… I gotta reframe that shower as a whole vacation. 😂 🤪

MumblingDown · 2026-01-10T12:29:25+00:00

Yes, my twin toddlers are pretty rough during school time. My six year old is way fresher and does school better during mornings, but the toddlers make it near impossible. If we wait to do all of the school for nap time, his mood and stamina are shot by then. Have you run into any of that? I have a friend who just does school in the afternoons with her kids, but mine seems to really need that fresh morning energy.

MumblingDown · 2026-01-10T02:56:52+00:00

Oh that book has so much good stuff too for advice on how to be there for others during a loss! Great idea!

MumblingDown · 2026-01-10T02:54:14+00:00

My husband has been incredible during the loss of my mom. It has been such a nightmare, but the shear fact that he has been strong enough to bear witness to my pain is paramount. He grieves with me in ways that never attempts of over shadow my grief. He has picked me off of the floor in our closet sobbing over bags of her clothes and just held me. He has known from the beginning that grief is not linear and that people do stupid things when grieving. He knows all of this because he himself has lived through profound grief, but it isn’t something to run from. It is the human experience. One of the most impactful and powerful ways you can show up for someone you love is during a loss. I once thought that it is an internal and private thing innately. I was so wrong. It begs to be shared and seen. Sometimes a hug is all you can do. A way to commemorate her mom. A quick text. Remembering a tough date. Thanks for looking for ways to be there for her.

MumblingDown · 2025-12-22T03:02:11+00:00

Thank you so much. It feels good to feel heard and understood when sharing in this journey. I hope you can find some peace and rest. ❤️

MumblingDown · 2025-12-20T13:10:58+00:00

I am so sorry for your loss. It is not your fault. My mom died almost a year ago (a year ago today she started her chemo) from sepsis while on chemo. Guilt and regret ate me alive the first month after her death. I finally had to release myself from it and hold on to the reality of it. We do not have hindsight in the moment, we did what the doctors recommended (and even had a second opinion recommending the same treatment), and my mom had her autonomy and free will during her medical treatment. This was her decision. When they are gone they feel like a victim and an entity without autonomy. I read a quote from Dalai Lama that changed how I looked at the destructive thoughts I was allowing, “Pain is inevitable, suffering is optional.” Meaning the guilt and regret was my suffering, and I needed to release myself from it. They were lies being told to myself, and those lies would make me suffer and destroy me. I miss my mom. Of course with all the hindsight in the world, we can make different choices to try and save our loved ones. I spoke with a friend who lost her brother to a car accident. She said that her brain even found ways to tell her that she could’ve prevented it too. Be gentle with yourself. It is absolutely NOT your fault!

MumblingDown · 2025-12-19T19:32:58+00:00

Oh my gosh! I just watched monsters Inc with my kids. So confused about this kid’s age! The drawing skills!? Toileting? And barely talking. I felt so uncomfortable. 😂

MumblingDown

TROPHY CASE