The Crush

I can remember when I was in middle school and started to develop crushes on boys. I can remember giving and receiving little notes that said, do you like me? There were two boxes that the recipient of the note had to check either yes or no to the above question.

If the yes box was checked then you had yourself a boyfriend or girlfriend. This meant that you would send notes to each other and maybe play a little bit on the play ground together.

I also remember never bringing up my crushes that I had to my parents. This was a school thing. The boy never came to my house; we never talked on the phone. I didn’t know his parents he didn’t know mine. It was a private young crush.

This carried on into my teen years. My parents requested to meet whomever I was dating, but they did not know the young man or his family on a deeper level. My relationships were private.

I find new reasons to love homeschooling as we continue to live this lifestyle. Middle school kids will always have crushes. It is normal and I am not too concerned about it. My husband on the other hand may have more issues with it than I do. I think all fathers do.

The middle school kids that are in our homeschool group develop these crushes too. The difference I have noticed between their crushes and mine of the past is that these kids are open with their feelings. They talk to the adults about how they feel. They have no problem telling us parents who likes who.

Another difference is that the boy who may have a crush on my daughter or vice versa is apart of our homeschool family. I know this child, his parents and their values. Us mom like to refer to the kids in our group as being on the approved future dating list.

I am not saying that all the kids in our group will be arranged in marriage some day, but what I am saying is that I love the fact that I can be apart of these first crushes, even if I am in the background. I like knowing all my children’s friends and families, not as acquaintances, but as a family. This makes the realization that my little girls and boys will one day like the opposite sex a little easier to handle.

Even if my children find the love of their life in a different setting, Church, college, or wherever, I am hopeful that they will carry with them a respect for their families and themselves that they are being taught in these early years.

Homeschooling has so many benefits for education and the benefits of everyday human interaction that comes with it is one more reason I feel blessed that homeschooling is apart of our lives.