Do you have "interests"?

[Alenee]

After a heated conversation with my sister (who is still single and has no children) recently, I've had this on my mind.

 

Do you have outside interests that do not include homeschooling, church, or ministry?

 

How much time do you spend with these outside interests?

 

How, as a SAHM, have you found a balance between homeschooling and your own personal interests?

 

How long does it take someone new to you to find out you're a homeschooler? A few minutes, hours, days weeks, years???

 

I'll start. I'm one of those people who made homeschooling my "career", which means I don't have a lot of time to pursue hobbies. We do not have what I would consider a "child-centered" home, however dh and I feel this is our time to be parents. I read a lot of fiction for my own "getaways", and before I had three kids, I made time to scrapbook. I coach girls youth soccer in the fall. I attend and occasionally host a homeschool support group once/month.

 

But beyond these things (and church), my time is not my own. We homeschool 5 days a week, piano lessons, soccer, gymnastics, kids club, occasional play dates, swim lessons........I really don't have time (nor the inclination) to p/u a new hobby. I'm sure I could find the time if there was something I really wanted to do but.I.don't.

 

Your turn!

[nancypants]

Many!

 

I love photography, blogging, gardening (during our very short growing season), dabbling in graphic design, reading, being with friends... How do I manage it? Well, my house is probably not as clean as yours ;). And I've somehow become WAY less of a control freak than I used to be. I try to just enjoy life and if that means that I don't get all of my mental to-do lists done, then so be it. I don't think I'll look back on my life and think about all of the times my house didn't look sparkling.

 

I will however look back with regret if I let these "hobbies" take me away from my children more than I ought to and for me that is my main challenge... balancing my "outside" interests with my ultimate responsibilities and joys of spending quantity and quality time with my kids and husband and keeping the household running smoothly.

[Remudamom]

Mine are old enough now that our homeschooling is less teaching from me now and more overseeing and keeping them accountable. So I have more time than I used to, but I'm not interested in "outside" activities. I work with the horses, read and try to learn Spanish, some blogging.

 

I'm not a joiner, not even with horse stuff. I like to do my own thing on my own time.

[Sue G in PA]

Lots of interests, not a lot of time to pursue them. When we started hsing, my interest sort of took a back seat to everything else. It's all I can do to teach, keep my house in some sort of order, spend time w/ my kids, be a parent, etc...I haven't scrapbooked in YEARS, haven't touched all the silly Stampin Up! stamps and accessories I purchased, etc. I've honestly lost "me". Even my kids have noticed that I don't do anything for "me". That is really sad. I figure this season of my life is for my kids. When they are grown (and that time will come all too soon), I'll have time for "me", time to do whatever it is that I wanted to do now, but couldn't find the time to do, KWIM? So, yes, I have interests...but they will have to wait a while.

[Peek a Boo]

I'm another homeschool-career mom.

 

It really does consume me, but I tend to jump right in w/ both feet, so I'm trying to be pickier about what i take on :)

 

Yeah, most people frind out I'm a homeschooler w/in minutes.

We definitely have a children-centered home. Books all over. Lots of packrat and clutter. dishes in the sink, stuff on the floor, clothes in the baskets. But it's fun and relaxed.

 

The only thing i do that isn't somehow tied into homeschooling is my position on the city library board. But even our civic involvement gets wrapped up into homeschooling at times, lol.

 

I'd love to have a horse. An Egyptian Arabian. It would be mineminemine. Allll mine.

[Mom2legomaniacs]

I'll echo some of that here. (not with horses though;)) I knit, read, crochet (although not so much since I learned to knit recently), and go out occasionally with friends. I don't go out all that often, but I do attend a sit and knit twice a month. And some friends and I like to go out for dinner without kids and hubbies every so often.

 

I don't obsess over the house. I like to just hang out with my kids and dh or friends in a relaxed manner. I am not much of a joiner either. My friends are pretty relaxed about stuff as well.

 

What I do think is important is that my kids see that all I do is not wrapped up in them. They need to see that I have friends that I enjoy spending time with, that I have interests that I pursue, and that I am a person, not just mom. Seeing these things about me, I feel, is important for them.

[swellmomma]

You mean we are supposed to have outside interests? well darn I missed that memo. All of my interests are crafting type things, that even if I took an outside class(like I did for cake decorating) it is short lived and for the purpose of making what I do at home better. Otherwise I work at home running a dayhome and schooling my kids. My interests are school stuff, childcare stuff, finding info and special needs etc. Aside from my church I am home or with my kids 24/7, I have no identity outside of them. So it takes all of a few minutes for people to learn I homeschool, I'm a single parent and 2 have special needs that keep me hopping. My only me time is at about 2 am, so by then I simply watch tv or read. One of these days I will have outside interests again, maybe even start dating again, imagine that, but for now especially while the baby is still so young no outside interests, everything is about the kids, dayhome, or church

[StaceyinLA]

but my main interest away from home is golf. Of course, since dh and ds play too, it's still kind of a family affair. I do play in scrambles and tournaments with my sister sometimes and I have played a couple of tournaments with my brother too.

 

We belong to a country club about 15 minutes from us (we live in the boonies so it's surprising to have something like that fairly close by), and we go several times/week. Ds and I will meet dh at least one evening a week and we go on the weekends. I play with my sister on Thursday evenings. Ds and I play together a good bit, but sometimes I play with dh and no ds. We have really had a lot of fun developing this hobby together, which is a first for us!

[Jean in Newcastle]

My kids are incorporated into my interests. I love to cook. And bake. My dc often join me (not always willingly!) I learning to knit. Dc are learning to knit - they do have a choice on this one! I am trying to have a vegetable garden and to reclaim our yard from all the weeds. The dc are required to join me for 1/2 hour of gardening a day - then they can play freely outside. I love to read. Ds10 is currently stealing the Father Brown book I'm reading. . . (so even when I don't make then join me, they do anyway!)

[Jenny in Atl]

Gosh, I've got a bunch; everything from reading, seeing movies to learning new forms of art work (photography, metal, clay, fabric, etc). Also, Dh loves to climb and I enjoy going with him for both the drive and hiking. We were together for a long time before we had kids, and we have many hobbies and dreams of travel that will last us till we are old.

[mcconnellboys]

I agree with you completely.

 

I worked in my family's business from the time I was 11. I didn't marry until 28 and we didn't have our first child until I was 32. I had years and years of work behind me; education; had bought my first house and it was fully furnished; owned my car, etc., etc. I had fully decorated my house, and did another, larger home once we knew we were going to have a child. I had been able to buy great clothes and jewelry while I was single. We ate out in great restaurants all the time (lived in Baton Rouge, so great food all around us). We vacationed regularly. So I had already lived a very full personal life. I feel I treated myself plenty, LOL!

 

I really do feel that this is my season for my family. Already, my oldest will be taking his college entrance exams next year and beginning to decide on schools and apply to them! It lasts such a short time - especially if you only have one or two children (even if they're widely spaced)!

 

When I work, I work. I'm pretty fully focused. This hsing business is my work right now and I am very focused on it. I'm learning a ton to fill in my own education - things I never knew! I learn new stuff every year, even if we are going back through the same eras again as I do this with my younger son. So I guess I could say that my hobby right now is educating myself while I educate my children....

 

Now, I schedule things for the larger hsing community in my area. This benefits my children as it gives them friends to do things with instead of just doing them alone. I've been involved in doing this sort of stuff from the beginning of my hsing journey. It also gives me plenty of other hsing moms to talk to, and we don't always talk about just business! We also do meet at someone's house or go out to eat occasionally or do other things together, such as go to convention, etc. However, getting my children well educated and off to a good start in life is my primary purpose at this stage of my life.

 

Once they do get more independent, I will be moving on once again to things that I want to do just for me (like travel!) Until then, I'm perfectly happy to have this time in my life,

[Ellie]

Fencing, Scottish country dance, clogging, hula (danced at a wedding last week :D); board member on the South Bay Scottish Society (was the chief for a couple of years) and the Austin Girls' Choir; desktop publishing (newletters, souvenir catalog for a couple of Highland games, a book, other stuff); an officer in our local Gideon camp as well as officer in a state-wide Gideon association; Missionettes sponsor and coordinator; probably some stuff I'm forgetting :-)

 

Now, I did clogging when my dc were little, on nights when dh was home; and I was a Camp Fire leader for my younger dd. Most of the other things I started doing once my dc were grown. Having only two dc, my days as a SAHM were much shorter than those of you with many dc; if I'd had more dc, I would have been content to be "just" a mom. :D

 

I will always be a hser, though:D

[Soph the vet]

Even though my dc get most of my time, I still work part-time one night per week and every third Saturday. Today I had everything from congestive heart failure to a stifle laceration. So my previous career has become a hobby of sorts. I also love broomball, softball, reading and researching, singing, and mowing the lawn - is that a hobby?

Someday, I would love to have a horse again, and maybe some cows, I really like cows, but they just don't allow them in suburbia.

[Greta]

Carli, this is a great question. I've wondered about how other moms handle this a lot. My outside interests right now consist mostly of reading books just for pure fun and not for school, and occasionally watching a movie that isn't entirely appropriate for an 8yo. ;) I need to do these things from time to time in order to "decompress" and to be emotionally available to my daughter and husband.

 

That said, I also consider myself a "career homeschooler" (love that phrase). That is my passion right now. Yes, it consumes most of my time and my mental and emotional energy. And I think that's perfectly okay. When my daughter moves off to college and to start her own independent life :crying: I will have plenty of time on my hands to pursue my own interests. Right now, my primary interest is enjoying this wonderful time that I have with her.

 

This may sound snotty and I don't mean it to, but I wouldn't expect people who don't have children to really understand that. I certainly know that *I* thought it was ridiculous the way people "sacrificed" their lives for their kids . . . until the midwife handed that beautiful bundle of love to me and my whole world was turned upside down in one amazing instant.

[Diana in OR]

When my dc were younger, other than teaching the ocassional SS class, I didn't do much. My "hobbies" were learning how to be a good homemaker, how to cook, garden, etc. Outside of the home, for many years, my "interests" were more like one-time activities, such as a mom's retreat, as opposed to a regularly scheduled event. Then, as I began homeschooling, my outside activities really involved my dc to one degree or another, such as helping with the soccer team or leading our hs mom's group.

 

Over the past few years, I've been able to add more of my own interests into the mix, but it is a gradual process as my dc are getting older. I've been involved in my church's worship team, and I must confess I love it so much it seems more like "fun" than ministry. It only requires one rehearsal every other week, and I sometimes practice at home.

 

I am learning to discover who I am. I love all the civic and community activities I am involved in. Sometimes I wonder why I didn't get involved sooner, but realistically, I know I couldn't have made it work when my dc were younger. They do grow up quickly, and I don't regret for a minute being totally focused on them during those early years.

[linders]

Besides lots of reading (which I did before kids, before DH) I like to...

 

 

• Backpack (which has turned into car camping with the DS)
  
• Ski (we are just getting back into that as the DS get old enough)
  
• Golf (maybe someday)
  
• Race sailboats (probably never again)
  
• Scrapbook (someday)
  
• Quilt (someday)
  
• Make dinners with (adult) friends that require all-day planning and cooking and end with all-night eating and talking

But I'm with you. Right now I have a career (HS) that is very time- and energy-intensive, and I love it. Most of my "extra" activities in some way relate - teaching classes at the co-op, getting together with friends who have kids of a similar age, field trips to kid-friendly places, and finding a pleasant way to incorporate the piano, soccer, etc. into our daily lives. I reserve most of my free time right now for the thing that grounds me best - reading. Reading is so important to my well-being that when I get grouchy, my DH sends me to the bookstore.

 

Your sis truly can't understand. Heck, before I had kids, I'm sure I didn't. Many of my mom-friends who don't homeschool can't even quite understand, but they are all generous with help when I need it.

 

Honestly, it isn't much different from some outside-the-home careers that become all-consuming.

[Kathleen in VA]

I fancy myself a writer, but actually I am not all that creative. I could probably write user manuals, LOL, but not anything you'd read for pleasure.

 

I love to proofread and am working as a copy editor. It's lots easier to find other people's mistakes than to try to come up with something novel to say. I proofread everything I read anyway, so I might as well get paid to do it.

 

That is my one "hobby." Kinda sad, huh?

 

Homeschooling is a passion for me, so it takes up pretty much all my other time and I don't mind one bit.

[dangermom]

Yep, I have a bunch. I also have a kind of messy house. :D

 

I love to sew--quilts and clothing for my girls. (i'm taching my oldest to sew this summer, too, so--homeschooling also?)

I read a lot--very fast and while I'm doing other things.

I like to walk and I have to go to the gym to stay healthy.

I work a few days a month at the public library.

I like to garden too, but I'm bad at it and it goes waaaay down the list, especially when it's hot out.

I'm way behind on my scrapbooking, but trying to catch up (I only do it at crop nights, once a month if I'm very lucky).

And I spend too much time online.

 

I don't have as much time as I'd like for my interests, esp. the sewing, but I squish it in around the corners.

[Suzanne in ABQ]

My main "hobby" is singing. I sing in community choirs and church choir, as well as leading worship, singing special music for church services, weddings, funerals, and special events.

 

I recently started taking a ceramics class. I'm learning to make tile. We molded our tile, and made a plaster mold. Next, we're going to press our tiles, fire them, glaze them, and fire them again. After this class is over, I think I'll take a ceramic mural class. I enjoy painting bisque ware, too. It's very relaxing. The time just flies.

 

Other than that, I just decorate my house. I always have at least one project going, or waiting to be done. I recently made lined, silk curtains for my bedroom. That was new. I like to sew duvets, and curtains, and seat covers. I don't like to make clothes.

 

I like to read, but I never seem to get to sit long enough to get through more than a few pages at a time. I find that frustrating. Perhaps when my 2yo is older, and not climbing on me every time I sit down, I'll be able to get through a book in less than 4 months.

 

Hmmm, other than this board, and Pioneer Woman, and my e-mail, I think that's it.

[elegantlion]

Where we used to live I sang on the worship team. What, that's ministry. Anyway it was my thing, we had a girls' night after worship practice every week.

 

Now I:

 

 

• sing - but only for me now
  
• write - I'm doing a year long writing challenge and have a few novels in the works
  
• play piano - although we only have keyboard right now I play to relax
  
• decorating - although this has taken a back seat, I enjoy doing it

We also like to travel and are planning to do more of that. But that's a family thing.

[Trivium Academy]

Do you have outside interests that do not include homeschooling, church, or ministry?

Well that's not a fair question because if something has anything to do with education, it could be under the category of hsling. I enjoy hiking, drawing, watching movies, reading and trying new recipes. I love to expand my cultural experience and discover new places or try new things.

 

How much time do you spend with these outside interests?

All the time

 

How, as a SAHM, have you found a balance between homeschooling and your own personal interests?

By sharing the experience with my kids and making sure they go to bed at 8:00 pm each night.

 

How long does it take someone new to you to find out you're a homeschooler? A few minutes, hours, days weeks, years???

 

I'm not "HI! I'm a homeschooler! then 10 minutes later, "Oh, my name is Jessica." I usually wait until it is asked what school my children attend and my dd7 is usually the one who says we homeschool.

 

The only time I start with "We homeschool" is when it is apparent that the other parent does too.

 

 

I take homeschooling seriously but I also try to work smarter rather than harder. Our life is integrated with things we didn't do before hsling.

[Night Elf]

Being a homemaker and all that entails is all I want to do. Homeschooling is a huge part of our lifestyle and is my passion at the present time. When I meet new people, which is rare actually, they usually find out within minutes that I'm a homeschooler. That's because they always ask the ages of my children and where they go to school.

 

The last outside interest I had was several years when I was taking TaeKwonDo. I enrolled on the suggestion of a counselor that was trying to help me get interests outside the home. I was in TaeKwonDo for 2.5 years and earned my Black Belt. It did not fulfill me the way other people thought it should. I would have gladly quit at any stage and it wouldn't have bothered me for an instant that I didn't achieve my goal. The "goal" is now sitting in a box in my attic, the cool Black Belt with my name stitched on the end. I thought about continuing to work on my 2nd degree but I decided against it because if the first one didn't mean much to me, why spend the money, time and energy earning the second?

 

I'm assuming your sister doesn't "get" the whole parenthood and homeschooling thing. She may never get it. Just because someone becomes a parent doesn't mean they automatically become passionate about being a parent. If I were in your shoes, I'd tell my sister that my life is exactly the way I want it right now. Parenting and homeschooling IS my passion and she doesn't have to agree with it or give her blessing. In the spirit of family love and peace, she needs to just accept this is where you are and if she can't she needs to keep her thoughts and comments to herself. She doesn't need to understand you. (Can you tell I've been through this too? :) )

[8filltheheart]

My family is my main interest. My dh's as well. :) We love to hike, play games, etc as a family. Outside of doing that with our family, my favorite thing going places alone with dh......even if it is only to Sam's. ;)

 

My "independent" interest I guess would be studying theology. I do spend time reading and learning that on my own. Right now I am also writing a homeschool language arts program as a side interest. I am enjoying that as well.

 

As far as how long it takes for people knowing we homeschool, it really depends on the scenerio. I don't normally bring it up unless people ask where the kids go to school or if we homeschool. Now, being Catholic is probably something people realize much faster (especially if they walk through our front door....it takes less than 1 sec to make that connection.) I think that is a more "universal" thought in the south. New people that we meet don't ask about schools......they ask if we have found a church. :)

[Peela]

Homeschooling is pretty much what I consider my job, and probably a large part of my identity too. I do like to share my passion for homeschooling with people and yes it does often come up in conversation fairly quickly, partly because if I am meeting someone new and we are chatting and getting to know each other, it is useful to mention the "big" things because they colour pretty much everything else. Homeschooling is a significant reason why we have a big house, why I dont work much, and its also how I spend a lot of my time.

 

However, I have plenty of time nowadays to do other things. For a long time I was obsessed with homeschooling, but now it just feels like my job, I feel pretty happy and stable with what we are doing, and I am not much of a curriculum junkie anymore :)

 

So, my interests are my spiritual life, and that includes lots of reading and also attending a yearly retreat, some weekend retreats, some evening things at times. That is my real me time, and my husband supports that and my kids are used to me disappearing for those things, adn their dad taking over meals etc (you know, pizza those nights).

 

But I also read lots of other things, I am passionate about health, I go through phases of being passionate about cooking and diet, I have great friends who I have periodic times with, and the thing that seems to be coming up strongly in my life is singing and playing synthesizer in two separate bands. One is related to my husbands work, the other is completely separate, both are spiritually based.

 

Sometimes in the last year, when homeschooling has settled down more and my focus there is more relaxed, I have thought about taking on more work, or even going to university. However my hsuband discourages this and I know he is right. At this time in my life, he supports us, we have a great lifestlye, I am fed and nourished both within my family and with a significant life outside my family, so to take on "more" would end up being "too much" rather quickly and i would get stressed, which would feed back negatively on my family.

So, if I wasnt homeschooling, yes, there are other passions I could follow, I do have other interests, but this is a season and it feels such a blessing to have such a happy and relaxed lifestlye....it feels like it would be just greedy to go "more, more, more" at this point.,...so I am very grateful for what I have, which is more than enough.

 

Ultimately I have sacrificed a career- or a career I though I was going to have, as a naturopath- to do this, and that feels fine, but I do have friends my age who are going to university to get the career they never had. Or, they are now earning a lot of money because they go their degrees and are working.....and there is a slight twinge every now and then. But, the sacrifice feels so worth it for the life my kids are having, and the family life we have, and the freedom.

[Call Me Cordelia]

I work full time at a job, not a career, to earn money for "extras" like a car payment, sports, curriculum and co-op. I work from 5 a.m. to 12/1 p.m, Monday through Friday.

 

When I come home, I check/help with school work the kids did in the morning, clean a bit, do laundry, sometimes take a nap, and then run kids to soccer. I often miss church because of soccer events.

 

I try to be in bed by 9 so that I can do it all the next day.

 

There are things I look forward to pursuing after this season of life. What makes this season "worth" it is the relationships I have with my kids from spending time in the car with them, watching them, schooling them, helping them be successful in the mornings when I'm not home.

[TN Mama]

Oh, yes I have interests! And I think if I didn't I just might lose my mind. :) I belong to a book club of several women that I've known since we all had infants. We meet once a month and discuss our latest selection. We also have a night out every now and then where we'll play games and visit or go out to dinner. Also, at least once a year we have a girl's weekend where we head out for a long weekend away. I so look forward to those weekends! The group is wonderfully diverse and it is amazing to have witnessed (and to continue to witness) the spiritual growth going on!

 

I work 8 hours a week for a local non-profit and the girls can go with me, so that is a bonus. The job is quite enjoyable and I've met some wonderful people.

 

I don't sew or knit (yet) but will learn some day. I used to scrapbook, but couldn't make the time for that one. Hmm... whatelse? Love to volunteer locally at a local shelter. We don't do this as often as we should, but I think that is about to change.

 

So I guess as far as my independent interests go: reading, being with friends, volunteering, & my job I guess would be it! I love spending fun time with the family, though. Probably our most favorite things would be playing games and taking trips to the mountains.

[Tracey in TX]

I have interests and occasionally even get to enjoy them, but generally not. I joke saying that I'm a 'One Dimensional Mama'. This stage of my life is about my kiddos. However my interests are:

 

gourmet cooking

throwing parties

golf

reading

travel

photography

writing

taking video-based history courses

working out

swimming/tanning

[Pam "SFSOM" in TN]

After a heated conversation with my sister (who is still single and has no children) recently, I've had this on my mind.

 

Do you have outside interests that do not include homeschooling, church, or ministry?

 

How much time do you spend with these outside interests?

 

How, as a SAHM, have you found a balance between homeschooling and your own personal interests?

 

 

 

It's a season of life, Carli. When I was in that season, those WERE my interests. That WAS my life.

 

I made sure to keep close contact with some friends that did not overlap into the season, but that was all.

 

Now that I'm transitioning, I'm finding a balance and exploring other interests, but it's not easy. I suspect that for awhile, work will be a big part of my life and my interest, with my family being central but in a different way than when I was "running the show," so to speak. And then more balance will ensue after a couple of years. And so it goes.

 

Don't let someone who hasn't walked in your shoes try to dictate what you "should" or "shouldn't" do or feel. (I mean, in case she's trying to do that. :glare:)

[Donna T.]

Yes, I have some interests but no, I don't have the time to pursue most of them anymore. Fortunately, my husband is very supportive. He makes it possible for me to have quite time to read because he knows the topics that I read about are incrediably important to me and because he likes to know what I've learned. I also work full-time. I only work overnight shifts and I get paid to sleep though it is sometimes interrupted sleep. Between homeschooling, reading (topics I'm interested in other than homeschooling), and working, there is certainly no time for "me" activities. But, I'm not complaining. I love homeschooling and wouldn't work at all if I didn't have this very unique job that allows me to be both a SAHM and perform work that I love. I'm not around someone very long at all before they learn that I homeschool.

[Rich with Kids]

Nope. It's where I am in my life and I am so OK with church, dh and dc filling my plate. I am very content. :001_smile:

[tmkclscroggins]

I have a lot of outside interests but not a lot of time to pursue them. I enjoy reading, quilting, crocheting and cross stitching. I think quilting is my favorite but it is also the most time consuming. I do everything in spurts.

 

I would love to try ballroom dancing with my husband but he won't go for it!!!!! I would also like to try bicycling - not just an easy ride around the block but for serious fitness. Maybe one of these days!

 

 

melissa

[Pensguys]

I have quite a few outside interests. I love to knit and do that most exclusively now. Before baseball season started, I went to a weekly group to knit on Thurs nights. I also go out twice/month with some hs moms to "recharge". DH is fine with getting some "guy bonding time" with the boys since he works long hours. I even have Sat mornings (until recently) to myself (and will again soon). My dh has been doing something with the boys on Sat morning since my oldest was 18 months. Then my little guy joined in when he was about the same age.

 

I don't feel that my kids are being neglected at all. I have my church responsibilities (orchestra and Awana) and my hsing responsibilities (which end for me as soon as school is finished for the day) as well as my household responsibilities. I don't see where any of those have to be mutually exclusive.

[Mama Lynx]

I'm another "career" hs mom. Even before we began homeschooling, I had a strong interest in education. I love this job. I enjoy it. It stimulates me. I'm forever shaking my head over the people who imply that I have no brain if I'm mostly focused on homeschooling. Why not? If I weren't a homeschooler, I'd likely be teaching. If I had my mind on teaching most of the time, I'd just be considered a wonderfully commited teacher, and praised for that. Why is it different when it's my own kids I'm teaching?

 

My interests include reading, learning languages, and history. Golly. Okay, I also love listening to music and going to concerts, and my dc are *not* interested in my music. I guess what I do for me, that I love to do for me, is to get a sitter and go see a show. I dabble in other things here and there ... but none of them are important to me.

 

Everything else I share with the kids, and the family. And that's what I want to do.

[ChristusG]

I like a lot of things....I read when I find a good book. We camp, as a family of course. Disney is a hobby of ours....but again, as a family. I like to scrapbook and do photography. But most of my pics and pages are of my kids LOL! So yes, I do have other hobbies....but they do seem to revolve a lot around my family. Those are the ones most important to me, so it just makes sense that my hobbies would involve them.

[Parrothead]

I have plenty of "me" time. During this time I read, play video games, garden, bake, sew and study what ever interests me at the time. Sometimes it is homeschooling stuff and sometimes it is other things. Right now it is church history and world religions. Being a night owl, I tend to take care of my interests after everyone else is asleep.

 

I have a part time volunteer postion at my parish. It is beginning to take up a bit more of my time, but I enjoy it. I also have two classes going at church.

[chiguirre]

Since most people I meet are at kids' events, hsing pops up pretty quickly. I think that's inevitable in a kid centered conversation. Autism pops up almost as quickly, sometimes quicker if my oldest is with us. Between autism, hsing and a dh who travels about half the time, I really can't commit to outside classes for me. I have taken as many accounting credits as I can online so that I can get my CPA when the kids are older, but I can't justify paying a babysitter twice as much as tuition would be to continue getting accounting credits right now.

[LibraryLover]

My interests are home based and ...'traditional'.

 

Everyone has their own interests & that's all cool with me. Frankly, I don't care if others share mine. In fact, I don't even care if they respect them. No skin off my vestibular.

 

I am all about home, hearth, gardening, volunteering, and taking care of the earth.

 

Rock on ...where-ever your interests lie. Some day, I made need someone who really digs setting super-tricky bones. Or who figured out how to make gas not cost $5 bucks/gallon. We all got our gifts, kiwm? :001_smile:

[Alenee]

Since most people I meet are at kids' events, hsing pops up pretty quickly. I think that's inevitable in a kid centered conversation.

 

HEAR HEAR!!!

 

My sis does not understand this in the least but talks/acts as if she does. Unfortunately, she'd show her ignorance fairly quickly in a room full of moms, homeschooling or not. It would be too hard to explain fully how this came up but the short version is, she thinks all I talk about with people is homeschooling, that I sit on blogs/message boards all day long :Dand defend homeschooling. (when then would my kids get educated? hmmmm) The short of it is, she hears one thing and thinks that's all I ever do. In fact at one point she called me and asked, "When I have kids, will you homeschool them for me?" I said,"I'll guide you into it!" lol! "NO!" she said, "I'll take us all to the beach and get a tan while you teach them." HA! I love her madly, but she lives in another state, rarely sees me, and fundamentally (other than homeschooling) disagrees with everything I think, do, feel, say. It's a tough road since I endeavor to have a close relationship with her.

 

Thanks for all the responses. Just needed a reminder that I'm not crazy!:tongue_smilie:

[RoughCollie]

I have interests that I don't have time to indulge all that often. Right now, my focus is on figuring out how to turn my sow's ear of a yard into a silk purse, how to insulate my attic, and how to widen a closet doorway from 4' to 8'. Once I get it figured out, I'll do it. I hope.

 

I love to read, cook, bake, hike in the woods, and camp. I love to play bridge, but I have never met anyone up here who knows how or wants to learn (in Atlanta I played several times a week with lots of different friends).

 

I like to talk to people IRL as long as they don't want to talk about children, homeschooling, or law. I have lived in this town for 13 years and I have never met a woman who did not spend our entire conversation either talking about her kids or trying to get me to defend homeschooling. I suppose I'm not well-socialized, and besides that, I can be crotchety. I don't suffer fools gladly. Hasten to add I am always polite -- I am a Southerner, after all. :-)

 

I have a long list of things I'd like to learn to do, and someday maybe I'll have time. First item on the list is milking a cow. I've seen exactly two cows in my life up close (but not close enough to touch them), so achieving this goal will take some work.

 

RC

[Jackie in AR]

. . . I didn't marry until 28 and we didn't have our first child until I was 32. I had years and years of work behind me; education; had bought my first house and it was fully furnished; owned my car, etc., etc. I had fully decorated my house, and did another, larger home once we knew we were going to have a child. I had been able to buy great clothes and jewelry while I was single. We ate out in great restaurants all the time (lived in Baton Rouge, so great food all around us). We vacationed regularly. So I had already lived a very full personal life. I feel I treated myself plenty, LOL! . . .

 

I really do feel that this is my season for my family. Already, my oldest will be taking his college entrance exams next year and beginning to decide on schools and apply to them! It lasts such a short time - especially if you only have one or two children (even if they're widely spaced)!

 

 

Very similar here.

 

I married two months before I turned 30. I had a house, a car, and a great-paying job. I ate out, went to movies and concerts, travelled, etc.

 

After we married, our twins weren't born until I was 33. Dh and I treated ourselves plenty until they arrived. (I like the way you stated that, Regena.)

 

And now that my dc are a little older, I could make time to go and do whatever outside interests that I wished because my dh is terrific and would happily parent our dc while I went and did other things.

 

But you know what? I don't really have many other things that I'm interested in right now. Sure, I'll go meet people to do this or that occasionally, but my family, church, and homeschooling are my passions. I live and breathe these things.

 

There have been people in the past who have been concerned for me and have told me that I really need to pursue my own interests, get out more, etc. But the people who have mentioned this to me really haven't been folks who have the slightest interest in me, or what makes me happy. Their remarks have been made so they can express their incredulousness that an educated woman would choose to quit a lucrative career in order to stay at home and raise a family. And don't get them started on homeschooling. :D

 

I may be doing too much reading between the lines, Carli, about your sister. Your post sounds to me like she is expressing displeasure with your life. But you know what? It is your life, and you don't have to explain it to anyone else or get anyone's approval. Live the life that you've been called to live with no apologies to anyone.

[Joanne]

During the years that my closely spaced kids were small, my now xh traveled constantly and I was in a different marriage dynamic, I did not have anything "going on" that was not related - somehow - to family. Even my AA activity was severely limited and usually involved women with young kids.

 

Today, with a teen and the youngers not so little, and a different partnership, I was "stuff" that is mine and unrelated to kids. I wish I had done that earlier, for a variety of reasons.

 

My career, quite literally, is kids and homeschooling as my income is derived from it. Most of my time is still focused on kids (mine and others), families and church stuff.

 

My writing is still family related.

 

I have, however, made a conscious choice to only teach adults in Sunday School.

 

I play Texas Hold Em in tournament (never cash games) and that's adult.

 

My AA activity, while not frequent, seems to have more broad appeal these days.

 

When I envision the career I want to develop over the next 5 years, it will involve women, families, children.

 

People no longer know immediately that I am a "homeschooling mom" mostly because my life is more broad than that now and I've had all the conversations I care to about it over the 7+ years I've done it.

 

I think it's important to have pieces of Mom that are not mom/kid/wife related. That said, I would not necessarily take the feedback of a single, no kids person on that. No matter how much I loved and respected them in other ways. There are experiential components to being a mom and wife that people can't and don't "get" without having BTDT.

[Heather in Neverland]

Do you have outside interests that do not include homeschooling, church, or ministry?

Yes, I am working on my doctorate right now.

 

How much time do you spend with these outside interests?Well, a lot actually but most of it is reading and writing papers.

 

How, as a SAHM, have you found a balance between homeschooling and your own personal interests?I work full-time and homeschool and go to college. If it is important to you, you make time. I also probably don't get enough sleep! :tongue_smilie:

 

How long does it take someone new to you to find out you're a homeschooler? A few minutes, hours, days weeks, years???It depends on who the person is. A business associate may never know if the personal topics about family don't come up. I usually wait until someone asks where my kids go to school. I work in the public education field so you can imagine how well that goes over!:D

[CalicoKat]

knitting, gardening, raising rabbits, taking care of my pets, cooking wholesome & nutritious foods that are OK for diabetics.

 

But like some other posters have said, this isn't the time of life to get too involved in projects that don't include the kiddos. So I guess we're in the purposeful homeschooling and parenting a chapter of life.

 

I do have 3 girlfriends. A couple homeschool too, but one doesn't. We get together every 6 months or so for dinner. It's really laid back and undemanding. Just a good time to laugh, drink, and catch-up. I'm hosting the ladies next time at my house for a "sleep-over" :) My new house is a ways a way so it doesn't make sense to invite them all over for a couple hours.

 

We keep in touch through email & phone inbetween times.

 

I'd like to make one big change - hostessing Sunday dinners for company once in a while. I remember my Ma doing this and it was a good memory and a good way to get to know people from Church. I think it would be a good way to include the kids and reach out and be friendly.

[LibraryLover]

I'd like to make one big change - hostessing Sunday dinners for company once in a while. I remember my Ma doing this and it was a good memory and a good way to get to know people from Church. I think it would be a good way to include the kids and reach out and be friendly.

 

I keep trying to get going with this as well. While we are not church-going people, I do love those Sunday afternoon gatherings. I start the week out thinking of inviting folks, then It's Thursday and I'm tired. lol I have managed a few, but not nearly as many as I would like.

[Kimberleigh]

Being a homeschooling mom is my number one job, but I'm also a published author. It's tricky to juggle a tight deadline with the kids' learning and activities, but we all cooperate and manage. My current goal is to get better about taking my computer with me to the kids' activities and finding a quiet corner to work instead of chatting with the other moms. Anti-social, I know, but necessary at times.

 

As part of my writing career, I go to a couple conferences a year. DH is very supportive and will take time off to stay home with the kids. Seeing my writing friends and talking shop is very nourishing to my writing self -- and it's also nice to get away and just be around adults every once in a while.

 

In addition to writing, I also read a lot, love learning and researching new things, and occasionally scrapbook and cross-stitch. I used to love being outdoors, but got sort of bogged down at home and playing chauffeur to the kids. That's another thing I'm currently trying to change because we could all use more fresh air and exploration of nature.

 

Kimber

[Kelli in TN]

Being a mom is all there is to me right now. And for me, that means homeschooling. But if my kids were going to school I would be one of those moms who is constantly at the school, volunteering and helping in any way I could. My children are central to my life.

 

It will not always be this way. Another decade from now and I will be pursuing my own interests. I will be a very involved grandmother, but I will not be running a Grandma Child Care Center. I plan to incorporate a little selfishness into my life as I get older and my children grow up.

 

I don't think I will regret these years of pouring myself out for my children.

[cricket1178]

Hmmmm. After reading everyone's interest, I now realize how incredibly boring I really am! Maybe I'll go back through this very long thread and find myself some hobbies!;)

[muffinmom]

Actually homeschooling is a huge interest for me--a passion, in fact--so I don't feel as if I'm missing anything (other than some peace and quiet). I feel like I'm gaining so much. Learning anew with my child (sometimes for the first time) is so exciting. It keeps my brain engaged and stimulated. I anticipate that all this learning (after all, I'm just getting started) will open up new interests for me and my family.

 

As for the past, I used to enjoy writing, reading, singing, and listening to music, not related to schooling, but I can and do incorporate these things into our homeschool day. I hope to pick the guitar back up again; I've forgotten everything I know! Maybe I will begin lessons again when my ds starts instrument lessons.

 

To keep some boundaries, dh and I try to get the kids down by 7:30 or 8:00, and we've recently started scheduling a sitter one evening a week for "date night."

[Diana in OR]

I have to add this, b/c I'm still stunned by it. I read an article in the newspaper today about a woman who was being interviewed about her job. Her response on Hobbies was, "Raising my 3 children."

 

Huh!?! Children are hobbies? I guess I *DO* have a hobby after all! And when I hang out on this board it must be *work*.

 

I always thought there were people out there who had that mindset, but I'd never actually seen it in writing.

[cabrams755]

My two daughters are now 16 and soon to be 15. Before we started homeschooling 9 years ago, I did a lot for myself, mostly scrapbooking, crafting, and reading. Then I found (or it found me) genealogy. It was easy to keep up with my hobbies when the kids were in 2nd through 5th grade. After that, I just couldn't think anymore at night. Slowly it's coming back. What's cool, is now I can do the scrapbooking and crafting part with them. It's nice to have something to share together. Reading is still mostly related to school, and the kids will never understand my obsession with dead people :laugh:

 

Chris