How I got this way ...

I always thought that growing up in a large family was unique and different, mostly because we had the biggest family for miles! When the fifth oldest, Doodle, was born in '86, life was fun and there was no end of trouble that we could get into as a family. Doodle and I became childhood friends almost immediately after she was born. I was hoping and hoping for a younger brother when my mom was expecting Doodle, that I was nearly shattered when I found out I had ANOTHER sister. But, of course, once I met her at the hospital, I forgave her for not being a boy and immediately vowed that I was going to have as much fun with her as I would have had if she had been a brother.



My mom decied to homeschool us when I was in third grade. This was because the public school system in California was miserable (even then). I barely knew my multiplication tables and couldn't phoenetically sound out new words! My mother was not impressed. When the Parent-Teacher meeting came around, my mom asked "How is my son doing this year?" A reasonale question, since it appeared that I was not doing well at all. My teacher said "Oh, he is right where he needs to be, progressing every day!" As you can imagine, this did not sit well with my mom - my mom doesn't do vague. Mom wanted to know what my GPA was ... the teacher showed her a report card that contained plus signs (+) and equal (=) signs but no letter grades. Evidentally, letters were even too tough for the teacher. What this translated to was that I had areas of good skills (the "+" signs) and areas that needed improvment (the "=" signs). Within a week, I was out of public school and enrolled in homeschool.



I have to stress that homeschooling is not as sheltering as some people think. We all played with the school orchestra and I was on the PE field too. I played Little League baseball and competed in various school competitions. While I didn't have the peer pressure of the "normal" public school student, I had other perks - like one-on-one tutoring and I was able to get all my homework done while in school, and I never had to worry about missing a day because I was sick. :-) We also graduated about a month before everyone else did, which was very awesome. All in all, when I graduated I felt ready to continue my education with confidence and hard work. When I enrolled in the local community college, I found that I was generally more advanced than my public school conterparts.

Home life was nice, mostly because all the friends I had lived at home with me. We are still a close knit family. I can thank my mom for my skills as a learner and my dad for the knowledge of how to get there. Growing up with so many girls, ultimately, gave me shape and structure to the life that I love and the people whom I cherish.

With regards till next note,

Jinxedy