About Hawaii...

You know how sometimes you say something, and then afterwards you start thinking that it didn't come out quite right and even possibly made you sound like a kinda mean spirited person? Yeah?

Well see, after my post yesterday, I went to bed thinking that I probably sounded like some callous mother who gets her kicks out of making fun of her children and this is just not so. I am a very loving mother...who greatly enjoys her children... and gets a kick out of making fun of them. BIG difference!

One of the greatest things I've learned from my children is how special and unique each individual person is. I've also observed that everybody has their strengths... and their weaknesses (and darn it, both can be funny). There are no such thing as better strengths or worse weaknesses... as God seems to have balanced out each individual to be just who He wants them to be.

So about Hawaii... being a homeschooler, a lot of the information my kids learn is absorbed rather than taught and is rarely tested when they are young. For example, we have always had a good wooden puzzle of the United States. (Actually we have gone through several because once you lose Georgia or Maine, you're kinda at a disadvantage.) Through simple puzzle play, one of my sons could identify every state on a blank map by the age of 4.5. He could do the puzzle with or without the frame, and recognize any state by shape alone. Another played with the puzzle but still really prefers his state quarter map. He also has a great grasp on US geography. Since the other of my 3 oldest (I'm trying to be very discreet here) had also spent much time with the puzzle, I figured we were good to go. See, if you have enough kids, they can slip through the cracks at home too. Yes, in his defense, Hawaii and Alaska are always just sitting off to the side of these puzzles... but still, but the age of 12... I would just hope... you know.

However, this boy makes up for any lapses in - well - the thought process, by being a human GPS, demonstrating remarkable athleticism, never forgetting a face or a name, and knowing the most minute details about every professional football and baseball player in recent history. (This became useful knowledge in helping him finally get a grip on his US geography.)

So for better or worse, my children all make me laugh. Hey, after 45 months of pregnancy, I deserve a good laugh. I laugh at myself too. People do and say funny things... and if we take ourselves to seriously... or rush kids off to tutoring or therapy just because they think Hawaii is a foreign country or that our female dogs can have puppies if they're gay... well, that would just suck all the fun out of life.