Just Not the Jumper

from the mom

Friday and Saturday I had the opportunity to work for a couple of hours at the Washington Homeschoolers conference. I am no stranger to homeschooling conferences; they were my bread and butter a few years back. In those days I had no interest in checking out booths and the thought of looking at homeschooling curriculum made me shudder. Even when Ben was born and I started being asked: Are you going to homeschool? I quaked with fear at having to make educational choices for my son.

So it was interesting to be back at a convention and remember all those stereotypes. I was working at the Discovery Toys booth. There is a lot more action here than at a college booth. I loved hearing my colleagues ask "What ages are your children?" and get the response: "They range from 1 to 16. I have 9." I know better than to ask this question lightly.

There were the unusual homeschooled children: the 2 1/2 year old running around the hall without shoes; the little blonde boy with golden locks well past his shoulders who is growing his hair to donate to locks of love; the 7 year-olds that were babysitting several of their younger siblings (this gets really irritating when they make your very crowded booth their daycare facility). These are the exceptions and not the norm, but they stand out.

The moms caught my eye. First of all, I am one of them now. I can feel this change sweeping over me. I still don't want to look at the curriculum but I am consumed with finding what my child needs. So anything to do with speech and language ignites me. Recently I have started reading books on classical education. I play learning games with Ben nearly every day. I sell educational toys for Pete's sake. How did this happen?

But I will not be caught dead in a denim (or any other kind of) jumper. They might be comfortable and convenient but they look like flour sacks. They look better on some than others; but they don't make anyone look like they have spent more than two seconds on their appearance. They are a reminder that motherhood (for many) means sacrificing your body on its altar. I feel that way but I would prefer to keep it to myself as much as possible. I feel a little too close to the frumpy homeschooling mom stereotype. Seeing a lot of it made me start to look for alternates to replicate. I didn't have a camera but I caught some great moms who managed to have style and class without spending hours (that they don't have) on themselves. So I was inspired.... Off to Curves.