Last Friday when my son started having an allergic reaction, we had to make some choices. Do you give the Epi-pen? Or is it not that bad? Do you call 911, or wait and keep assessing the situation? Do you drive yourself, or take the ambulance? My doctor had told us that we should give the epi-pen at the FIRST sign of trouble, always call 911, and always take the ambulance, so we did.
Guess what happened? We ended up looking foolish.
We gave an Epi-pen shot to someone who didn’t look “that” sick. We called 911 after the epipen, even though Alex looked like he might be getting better. We chose the ambulance, even though he could walk to it and climb into the stretcher himself. I remember apologizing profusely for troubling the medics, and I kept saying, “The doctor always told me we had to take the ambulance, and I know he doesn’t look that sick.”
When I spoke to the nurse at the allergy clinic, they told me that when you do these allergic reactions right, you DO look foolish. The alternative, however, is doing it wrong and risking your child’s life.
Homeschooling is like that. When all goes well, and your children turn out well adjusted and intelligent, people will wonder what the fuss was all about. Why did you go to all that trouble when they were going to turn out OK anyway? I’ll tell you why. Because you have to be willing to look foolish sometimes in order for your kids to be OK.
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Renae says:
I’m so glad everything turned out okay.
I’m willing to look foolish, too. It goes with the territory when you choose to homeschool.
September 16th, 2008 at 8:00 pm
J W says:
Oh man, do I ever get this. For phys ed, we swim during the day three times a week, and my older daughter joins a group of seniors who bop a beach ball for exercise. Today she was a bit immature, and I had to lecture her a bit about respecting her elders. How embarrassing! I mean, we’re representing the homeschool community, right? But then I got to thinking. What “young whippersnapper” (as my daughter calls herself when around the seniors) would even *want* to bop a beach ball with a group two generations removed from her? And what is learning without a few mistakes along the way? She certainly won’t learn respect for elders cooped up with kids who are almost exactly the same age she is. Plus I’ve noticed absolutely none of those seniors have asked me the “socialization question.” Maybe it’s worth eating a little humble pie.
September 17th, 2008 at 3:49 pm
Lee says:
>>>none of those seniors have asked me the “socialization question.” <<<
LOL! Joelle, Harold at our Church one time said to me, “Alex talks to me as if I was a real person! He talked to other kids his age, and then turns and talks to me USING THE SAME TONE OF VOICE!” LOL! Yes, I really think that our elderly friends really understand the whole socialization thing!
Blessings,
Lee
September 17th, 2008 at 4:03 pm
J W says:
OK, as much as I like to put forth my older, gifted child as an example of homeschool success, I really ought to put my challenged learner up as a poster child too. To a lot of people, I definitely am one fry short of a happy meal for homeschooling her. However, I know in my heart of hearts that this child belongs at home. It’s heartbreaking to know that I will never be able to convince the naysayers about her. But really, that part is up to God. My job is to put one foot in front of the other and *trust* Him.
September 17th, 2008 at 5:03 pm
The HomeScholar Helper » Salt and Light says:
[...] reminds me of my blog post called Success can make you look foolish. Be willing to look [...]
October 12th, 2008 at 7:15 am
Anna Poole says:
Isn’t that the truth?
This was an awesome post it brought tears to my eyes. (in a good way)
October 12th, 2010 at 5:02 am