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Gee summer seemed awfully short, just as I’m sure the winter will seem brutally long.  Can you tell how much I am anticipating transcripts?  Certainly more self discipline than what this free spirit is used to.

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Today I have an agenda.  Not just any agenda, but one very close to my heart.  Those of you who know me can attest to the fact that I rarely use my blog to complain, but I was out of phone numbers today and needed to blow off some steam so here it is.

You see, I spent all of today working.  I did not see the sunshine or my children at all.  From the time I woke up at 6:30 am, I have been busy running our family bookstore, Blue Thistle Books;  entering products, answering 2 bazillion emails, and trying to stretch an ordinary 24 hours into 72.  I also have the responsibility of caring for ailing parents.  My mother has a brain injury that left her without the ability to walk and talk for a very long time.  Now that she is better able to care for herself, she will reenter the hospital once again next week to have part of her esophagus removed.  This has left me with the big unanswered question, What will my life be like next week?  I guess I am part of what’s called “the squeeze generation,” and yet in this single parent home, there is only one person that is being squeezed. 

I battle constant stress, have terrible headaches, and constant burning in my abdomen, no doubt also from my hectic-no-room-for-fun-and-games life.  There is rarely a day that goes by that I don’t want to throw in the towel and call it quits because the knot in my throat is so large, it’s hard to swallow.

The reason I work at home, is so I, a single parent can homeschool my children.  I did not decide to homeschool because of a desire to give up every waking moment of my day, struggling with bad attitudes, or a fondness for lack of sleep and an empty wallet, but because we live in a very bad school system, where my children were in danger.  A school system where keeping order is the priority and education is a far second.  A school system where my 10th grade daughter was threatened with a gun and not a single phone call from the administration was made to inform me of the incident. 

Now, I don’t expect those of you who do not homeschool to care one way or the other about my personal choices or my lack of vitamin D.  However, for those of you that do homeschool and understand my heart felt decision to keep my children at home where they are safe and can be taught godly principles, you just might understand what I am about to say. 

When I started this business, it was my ultimate goal to provide excellent prices and excellent customer service and I feel we have done a great job in both those areas.   Since the beginning, every email that I have received has been answered in a timely manner with a smile…yes, you can read a smile.  Every phone call is returned promptly and courteously.  Every sales receipt is sent out with a handwritten thank you, including my customer’s first name because… I want each one of them to feel important.  Why? Because they are.  Without them, I would be working a full time job and my kids would not have a parent at home.  They would be part of the lost generation our country is raising.

Aside from those things, I deliver to my local customers, (all ten of them in CT - surprised? Me too,) despite the rising cost of fuel and I open my home to total strangers, just so they can see the curriculum before they purchase it. 

Now I am not trying in any way to toot my own horn.  My point in telling you all of this is, last week I opened my home to a customer - a customer driving a Lexus.  Before leaving, the customer placed a special order for a new product and when it arrived he decided he didn’t want it.  That product cost me $50.00 out of pocket to have him change his mind.  He then asked how much another book was that he special ordered, only to complain that it wasn’t as low as the BIG GUYS.  (This particular product was not one that we carried, I ordered it as a courtesy.)  The customer said, “Well, the BIG GUYS sell it for $9.99.”  The fact is, it cost me $10.16 wholesale just to buy it.  If I were to sell it at $9.99, I would be loosing money. I wish conversations like this were the exception and not the rule, but it’s a story that’s all too familiar.

Now I’m not condemning those of you that shop at the BIG GUY, I just want you to understand, that we little guys, do not buy books and curriculum in palettes, we buy a few of an item, so we don’t get BIG GUY discounts.  That being said, we are very close to the BIG GUYS on most items and on some, we are even lower.  How is that possible?  It is possible because I haven’t kept a 25% profit margin since we started,  and after marking every item down to try and compete with the BIG GUYS, we may not make it another year. 

Now beyond that, why should you shop at the little guy?  I’ll tell you why?  Because when you shop at the little guy, whether it be me or another small homeschool store, you are keeping a family alive.  You are supporting them, so they can homeschool and feed their children.  Isn’t that reason enough?

I know some of you are on a very tight budget, with only one income.  I know how that feels, believe me.  The only difference is, I don’t have someone to share the burden, yet I still make every effort to buy a gift or product at Etsy instead of the large department store down the street.  I know there is a mother with children on the other end of that purchase that may need the money.

The fact is, if we as homeschoolers don’t keep the little guy going, we will all be buying curriculum that is put out by companies like Alpha Omega and Bob Jones.  

Today, most curriculum is published by small family operations that are struggling to make ends meet.  They work tirelessly, running to conventions and giving of their time to bring us the curriculum we love.  And then there are the local homeschool stores that are scattered across the country.  How many people go into those stores to view the curriculum and then go home to order it online from the BIG GUY online for a lower price? 

Now I’m not saying there is any crime in looking for the best price,  I used to do the same thing, but I then read an article that had the same tone as this post and I suddenly saw things a little differently.  And now I am hoping that this post will cause you to feel the same way.  So please remember this the next time you are shopping for your curriculum.  And don’t worry about the BIG GUYS. They will do just fine without you.  And thank you to all our faithful customers.  You mean the world us.

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I’m finally getting this posted after sitting in the dark for several hours last night when lightning hit a transformer.  Eventually, I gave up and went to sleep.  I really must invest in a battery operated lantern. 

Anyway, our extremely isolated and unsocialized homeschoolers got together yesterday for a sewing class given by Bible study friend Beta, otherwise known as the Italian seamstress.  Unfortunately, I was too busy snapping pictures to learn much, but I picked up a little along the way.

While I was busy capturing the class, there was much weeping and gnashing of teeth over a couple of unruly sewing machines.  I would say “broken,” but that may stir up round two of tears over the pretty red sewing machine pictured at the bottom.  Don’t worry Kimmie, God can fix sewing machines too.

Wednesday it’s off to cooking class, when Beta teaches them how to make Bolognese!  You can better believe I will be holding a fork and not the camera that day.

Today I received this from Mimi Rothschild, founder of Learning by Grace.

California families are now engaged in the biggest crisis to hit homeschooling ever! And if this ruling passes through the appeals process, over 160,000 homeschoolers will be forced to go to public schools, move out of the state of California or be labeled as truants and have their parents potentially face criminal charges.

At http://www.ReverseTheRuling.com, you can learn more about this shocking issue gaining momentum throughout California, spread the word to other concerned families, retrieve information on how to e-mail your congressional representative, and practice your civil right to oppose this ruling by signing the petition and having your voice heard!

Parents, children, homeschoolers, public and private school students; this pertains to all of us. We hold certain rights guaranteed to us in the Constitution of the United States that our forefathers fought for – now it is our turn to participate in the fight for freedom!

If you value family rights, such as your ability to decide on the well-being and education of your child, click on http://reversetheruling.com/signthepetition.htm and sign the petition that acknowledges your civil involvement in righting this horrendous wrong.

Learn more. Be heard. http://www.ReverseTheRuling.com

Please take the time to sign the petition. This ruling may not only affect California homeschoolers, but could have far reaching implications. It will only take a minute to sign and remember, it’s not just an issue of homeschooling, but an issue of your parental rights.

Important News From HSLDA:

Sign the Petition to Request Depublishing of California Court Case In re Rachel L. and get more information.

Please Sign this Petition to Support Homeschool Freedom in California.

A California Court of Appeal recently decided that homeschooling is illegal in California unless a parent is a certified teacher.

The case arose in a confidential juvenile court proceeding. The family was represented by court-appointed attorneys and HSLDA did not become aware of the case until the Court of Appeal case was published on February 28, 2008.

The Court could have restricted its decision to the facts before it, but instead, it issued a broad ruling that effectively outlaws home education in California. The Court also certified its decision for publication, which means that the decision can now be cited as legal authority by all other courts in California.

The family and their California counsel are planning to appeal to the Supreme Court of California, which could result in reversal.

Another option to keep homeschooling free in California is to petition the Supreme Court of California to “depublish” the opinion. If the opinion is “depublished” then it cannot be used by other California courts and this threat to homeschool freedom will be neutralized for other California homeschoolers.

HSLDA will be formally petitioning the California Supreme Court to depublish the opinion. We would like to show that many other people, both in California and across the country, care deeply about homeschool freedom in California.

Please show your support for this effort by signing the petition today.