Thoughts. They are a-whirling.

I've been thinking a lot lately about the amazing women I know. And I know many, many of them. These people have shaped me and impacted me, moved and delighted me, and made me giggle til I almost wet myself.

And these women (while perfectly capable of living happy lives regardless of marital status) are single.

I should back up.

Most "normal" people in the world would say that 22 years old is a very young age at which to get married. But in homeschooled, middle America this is not the case. From 18 on there were comments and questions and oh-so-many "helpful" people looking to set me up. I'm not really complaining about that, though, because it was never a big enough thing to let myself be bothered over. However, I did constantly wonder why everyone in the world assumed that marriage was the only path to happiness. I swore to never be one of those people.

But I'm afraid that being married to the perfect man has changed my views. I know that I was a very happy single person. I thoroughly enjoyed the (perhaps) few years of my single, adult life. But now I am much happier than I ever was or imagined I would be. Therefore, I am an advocate of marriage (should your mate be perfect, that is).

Now, just because these wonderful ladies I know are not married does NOT mean I pester them constantly or even try to talk them into having relationships. I wouldn't dream of it. But I DO happen to know that these particular people want to be married (someday).

So, it makes me wonder. I wonder where all the wonderful guys are to make good on this opportunity? How can these beautiful, intelligent women and their singlehood go unnoticed? It seems slightly absurd. I hope all the respectable men of the world have not suddenly been abducted.


Dear men,
You are missing the best of the best. You're freakin' morons.
Sincerely,
Rachel

New Opportunities

Last night my husband, brother-in-law and I were invited to a cousin's surprise 16th birthday party. We were happy to go, especially since we hardly ever see that side of the family.

Apparently the cousins have been getting into swing dancing, so the party had a lot of kids who had been learning all about it. It would have been lots of fun to learn, but since almost everyone in the room already knew how, there wasn't a lot of teaching going on. So, instead, the three of us spent the first part of the evening standing by the drink table, watching and feeling old. It has been a while since I have been around that many high schoolers, and I certainly felt a bit out of place. But they were all really nice kids, and soon the dancing gave way to some games.

All in all, I'm still glad we went to wish her a happy birthday. Not to mention the fact that (being a homeschooler) I've never gotten to be a wallflower before. It's good to try new things. :)

The Special World of Homeschoolers

Somewhat recently I was introduced to a board game called Generosity. Making it's debut in 1985 it is "an exciting, action-filled game uniquely designed to reinforce Christian values through real-life situational play. A thrilling challenge for the whole family."

Essentially, it is the Christian version of the slightly more popular "Life" game.

You go about pro-creating like mad and (hopefully) doing good deeds so that you can store your treasures up in Heaven (once described by my brother as an "Heavenly 401(k)")

This game is, in a word, hilarious. And though good deeds are nothing to laugh at, it's impossible to not enjoy a bit of irreverent behavior while playing this game. How could you take it seriously when you land on spaces like the ones below?

If you would like to learn the fascinating rules of this game, go here. It might just make your day. :)

And though I personally never played this game while being homeschooled, I did challenge my siblings to other intense, morally friendly games.

Confessions

Having distanced myself from my homeschooling days by about 5 years, I feel like now is the time to start writing about some of the pros and cons (as I see it).

This could easily turn into a series of embarrassing stories and strange examples, but I doubt that will scare off any of you who have been reading for long anyway.

One interesting thing about making a pro/con list is that sometimes it's hard to categorize things in that way. Maybe being sheltered is good, and maybe it's bad. It all depends on...things...lots and lots of things.

Oh well.

Here's a start:

Pros-

• Finished lesson plans with plenty of time to goof off
• At home all day, therefore, I didn't realize my clothes were out of style
• Thought everyone was nice

Cons-

• Got spanked by "the principal" when I spent too much time goofing off
• The clothes that were out of style were actually hand-me-downs. From my brothers.
• Had to learn later that not everyone was nice.