Tonight was Sean's football banquet. If I am ever tempted to think that homeschooling parents are the only ones involved in their childrens' lives, the local junior sports scene would definitely provide a reality check. These are families with (often) both parents working, with busy lives, who still manage to carve out huge chunks of time to invest in family and community. The kids who excel in the sports field are often the same ones who excel academically; in both cases I think it could be fairly attributed to parental investment of time and energy. It is quite impressive to me but also quite different from the way I choose to use my spare energy. Our family dynamics are quite pared down by comparison. I have to make sure that though our life looks different, that it is as challenging in its way as theirs is in their own.
Love and family commitment are shockingly powerful forces. So powerful in fact that it makes me realize just how powerful the counterforces are... sin and alienation. I am not surprised that children of such parents turn out great; what surprises me is that they don't turn out to be world-shakers. But I suppose you don't have to be a world-shaker to be a force. These are "garden-variety" people in some ways; distinctive and unique in their own local circles, but certainly not dignitaries or world-class achievers. But a "garden variety" encompasses a lot when you think of it.
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Addendum:
Our local weekly newspaper, almost every week, has pictures of the local school kids getting some award or other. Because of our baseball and football participation, almost every picture has some acquaintance in it. Makes it fun for us to read.
Today the weekly had an article about a "Mystery". Seems something was making tracks in the dirt. They think it might be a giant centipede. I love where we live.
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