home, the anti-school

you (my nonexistent readership) know it's that time of year again when your 7-year-old says "mom, i want to go to j.c. penney" and you ask why (since you have never taken this child to j.c. penney) and he replies "because they get you back to school. it's what they do." of course, you also know at this point that your child watches too much tv, but that is a story for another blog entry.
if my own parents were giddy about me and my sister going back to school, they never let on. i know they must have been - or at least my mom must have been, since it was back in the 70s and 80s when dads were working some, playing golf or otherwise doing something enjoyable while the moms were trapped at home raising children. i believe that it was only recently that dads became more involved or "hands on" as i hear people say. i have never liked this term, as i am not very handsy (as JD from scrubs would say) or touchy and i am pretty sure it just means that the dads come home from work and acknowledge the children before the mom bathes them and gets them off to bed.
but i digress. so i am not sure that i am hiding the fact that i am giddy about my kids going back to school. well, i know i am not hiding it because i say it - to anyone who will listen. it's that good for me. in fact, recently, i was telling another 10-year-old, who happens to be homeschooled, that i couldn't wait for my kids to start school and she looked at me and asked in an accusatory tone "why are you ready for them to start school?" and i replied "to get them the hell away from me so that i can get something done and have some peace." okay, i didn't really say that, i said something like that i had a lot of things to get done and that it would be much easier when the kids were at school. either way, i felt her 10-year-old homeschooled judgment. and don't think that i am picking on homeschoolers, because i haven't yet. i actually considered homeschooling, but then i decided that i wanted my kids to be smart - and alive - so we went the traditional school route. i do, however, respect people who homeschool - in the same way that i respect religious freaks - in an i-completely-can't-relate-to-you kind of way.