We always knew that our son was different. And, looking back, all the signs of giftedness were there. So, in a way, the testing results were not entirely unexpected.

But then, when discussing the results, our psychologist strongly advised us to homeschool.

The homeschooling was unexpected.

You see, I had a Life Plan.  I was going to stay home with my children until they were school-age and then return to being a school psychologist in an urban school district. I was going to return to the career that I loved.

But when the happiness of your child is on the line, you change that Life Plan.

And so once we realized that homeschooling was the best option for our child, we became homeschoolers.

Just like that.

I was all in.

But, if we’re being honest here, there was a part of me that was worried, not about my son, but about myself. 

At the risk of sounding selfish, I worried about that career of mine. The one I had worked so hard for. The one into which I had invested not only heaps of money, but also years of blood, sweat, and tears. It was a career that I loved, one that I was passionate about. And the thought of leaving it for longer than I had anticipated was anxiety-producing.

Leaving a career you love is hard, even when you know in your gut that you are doing the right thing.

The Unexpected Gift of Giftedness: Homeschooling

I expected homeschooling to be hard.

I expected the first year to be scary at times.

I expected to learn a lot about myself and about my son.

What I didn’t expect was to fall in love with homeschooling.

I didn’t expect to love it so much that I would feel reservations about registering our daughter for kindergarten. I didn’t expect to feel such a swell of relief when, three months in, she wrote a homeschool manifesto asking to come home. I didn’t expect I would forego kindergarten registration for our youngest.

I am not saying homeschooling is for everyone.

And, I’m certainly not saying it is easy.

I’m just saying that two years ago I couldn’t imagine myself homeschooling and now I have a hard time imagining us doing anything else.

Sometimes we stumble into our calling.

For us, homeschooling is the unexpected gift of giftedness and, even on the ugly days, I feel so thankful to have landed here.

Now, it’s your turn. Tell me: What has been the unexpected gift of giftedness in your life? Share here!

This post has been part of the February 2016 Gifted Homeschoolers Forum Blog Hop: The Unexpected Gift of Giftedness. Please click the image below to keep on hoppin’!

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Caitlin Fitzpatrick Curley

Cait is a school psychologist, mom to three amazing children, and an unexpected homeschooler. She loves nature, good books, board games, strong coffee, and dancing in her kitchen. You can read about all of these things and more at My Little Poppies.

Cait co-hosts The Homeschool Sisters Podcast and is co-founder of Raising Poppies, a community for parents of gifted and twice-exceptional children. Cait is also founder of the Family Book Club at My Little Poppies, a fantastic community of book-loving parents and the Gameschool Community at My Little Poppies, a vibrant community of gameschoolers.

Cait is a contributing writer for Simple Homeschool and GeekMom. Her work has also appeared on The Huffington Post, The Mighty, and Scary Mommy. You can find her on Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, Instagram
and G+.

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