Cindy Lou Who…the Homeschooling Mom
Hey Mom,
My wife and I, along with most of our gang and my son’s fiancé’s siblings, went to see the new Grinch movie. It was a spontaneous, last-minute decision to go and and felt very holiday-ish. As I sat there watching the familiar story of the Grinch and Cindy Lou Who…who was quite a bit older than two, I began to wonder what Cindy Lou would be like as an adult mother…and homeschooler.
Here’s what I envisioned…
Illustration by Sam Wilson
The Whos down in Whoville were much older than when…
a young Grinch stole Christmas and returned it again.
The children got married and the parents went gray.
The Grinch became mayor and Max ran away.And Cindy Lou Who who was now 42…
Homeschooled her five sons and sweet Peggy Sue.
She spent most of her days, tired and spent
And wondered and wondered where all the fun went.Where was the magic and sparkle she knew?
All she could see were the things left to do.
There were lessons to plan and subjects to cover
Like phonics, math facts…and the history of rubber.And now it was Christmas and all she could see
Were the gifts to be wrapped and a lop-sided tree.
She wanted to smile, she wanted to play,
But the lists and the tasks would not go awayBut one day as she watched her kids study and write,
A thought came to her mind and she gave up the fight.
Cindy Lou’s idea was brilliant and bold,
A simple solution to feeling tired and old.“We will stop doing school,” she said with a grin.
“Close your books now and let real learning begin.
We have presents to buy and cookies to bake,
Fun to be had and crafts that we’ll make.”No more will I listen to those who know best.
I know that I need some fun time and rest.
I need to slow down and get off my phone
For soon they’ll be gone and have kids of their own.I will not spend my days on things that don’t matter;
Instead I’ll play games like Who-Chutes and Who-Ladders.
I will not miss this wonderful time of my life.
I will not get caught up in busyness and strife.So Cindy Lou Who who was still 42
And still had homeschooling and parenting to do,
Decided right then that what matters most
Were not books, or lists, or her friend’s latest post.She had been given a gift of six kids and a spouse,
And she would enjoy them in spite of her house.
It would not be easy, nor come naturally,
But she would do right and choose family.
I’m going to pray about this. Maybe take off one week and instead of chipping away at curriculum we could do crafts and cookies and take them to older people from church etc.
That was amazing I loved it and it’s so true. Thank you. God bless.
I just read this last week and it was as though I was reading my own story; I was speechless. I gave the kids the day off from school, took our calendar and began filling each day with at least one Christmas activity for the remainder of December. This is our first week with the schoolbooks closed and being fully engaged in the Christmas season. My six kids are overjoyed because their mom has found her smile.:) Thank you so much for this; it definitely doesn’t come naturally for me, but from now on we will stop doing school in December, and let the real learning begin.