Homeschooling has its drawbacks. I haven't written much about it, but for multiple reasons, we took Liam out of school after Christmas break to spend the rest of the year learning at home. Liam was and has been 100 percent on board, but holidays just aren't the same. Yesterday we made some cute superhero suckers to give to a bunch of Liam's good friends and Elliott's classmates. Elliott excitedly came home with reciprocal valentines from all his friends. Liam delivered his suckers after school, but other than cards from parents and grandparents, he came up empty.
The day wasn't a total bust. We enjoyed fancy hot cocoa and waffles with strawberries and whipped cream for breakfast. We made special heart cookies and delivered them to friends and neighbors who have had a darker than usual February or who are just simply alone today. And Liam spend the late afternoon with a couple of his best buddies.
But tonight there were tears. It's tough to be left out, even when it's not at all intentional. He just wasn't part of a classroom valentine's day party this year. And it's tough to be the mom of the boy whose mailbox went empty. It just isn't always enough to have your mom tell you you're great.
Nothing breaks my heart like putting to bed a kid who's sad. Although I know there's bound to be the fair share of heartbreak in our future, I feel partly responsible for today's. Maybe I should have emailed some neighbors and told them Liam would be giving valentines to their kids, hoping they'd all set one aside for him. Or maybe we should have gotten involved in some homeschool group. (But since we've only planned this as a half-year venture, we haven't pursued new friends.)
Tonight, I came downstairs feeling sad myself. Andrew had just finished lessons, so I told him about the day and what a trooper Liam had been yet how he cried when I put him to bed. Andrew headed upstairs. After a few minutes he came into the kitchen.
"He's fine now."
"What did you say?" I asked.
Andrew smiled. "I gave him five dollars."
As much as it sucks to be sad, and sucks even more to see your kid be sad, throwing money at disappointment doesn't seem like the best solution. But apparently it works. Still, I'm looking forward to next year when we'll continue our traditions of having fancy hot cocoa for breakfast and making treats for lonely neighbors, but when we'll also have a classroom of valentines to sort through at the end of the day. Because after a year without, a boy understands what a gift a full mailbox is, Justin Bieber and Barbie cards included.
