An Epilogue to Homeschooling: A Mother Hangs Up Her Homeschooling Hat…Now What?

Estimated reading time: 11 minutes

A mother’s account of letting go of who she was in an old story and allowing herself to evolve into a new one

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My chest feels achy. It’s felt like this for weeks now. I keep catching myself holding my breath, losing focus, reaching for something to soothe me, staring into space. This isn’t me — who is this person, I wonder. And yet, I recognize her.

I met this version of myself once before, years ago, when I was learning how to travel from girlhood into motherhood. And now, here she is again, getting her sons ready for their first days of school without her, learning how to be their cheerleader instead of their coach, figuring out how to let go while still holding on. This is me after 13 years of homeschooling.

Homeschooling was never the plan. It started when my almost-four-year-old leaned over and whispered, “I want to know everything, Mama,” lighting a fire inside me.

The year was 2009, and I was a 27-year-old mother of two intensely active, curious, wildly creative little boys (read: “not ready for Pre-K but bored to tears at home”) living in rural Georgia with very limited resources. A co-worker of mine at