TORCH meeting

Last evening I left Tim and the children home (after we opened my husband's birthday gifts) and went to my first Mom's Night Out sponsored by the local Catholic homeschooling group. Of course I belonged to a local group down in NC, went to get-togethers there, but this was different in a special way.

In this one room was a collection of women with whom I shared a lifestyle that is so different than what is the norm. When I went to the hospital this past week to fill out paperwork for Baby Sunshine I was barraged with, "This is your 6TH baby?" insinuating that I belonged right next to the bearded lady at the freak show. Last night we played a funny introduction game and learned some interesting facts about each other. Best of all we shared how many children we had and how long we had been homeschooling. While there were a few moms just starting, the majority of the 30+ moms almost repeated each other, "We have 6 kids and we have been homeschooling for 8 years."

Here I didn't have the biggest family by far, here I wasn't the only mom foolish enough to attempt to teach 3 different grade levels, I wasn't the only person serious about my Catholic faith. Here were ladies who had put professional careers on hold for almost 20 years to stay home and educate their children. Last night's get-together was a wonderful way to begin our MD homeschooling adventure and I hope to make many friends within their ranks.