Clicking

I've joined the facebook borg, finally. I resisted for a long time, concerned about data mining and the CIA ties with the founders of facebook. So now that I've shown my paranoid freak flag, I surely am enjoying the applications. The old photos of friends, and the photos of old friends are simply wonderful.

And through this new facebook connectivity, I read my friend Carrie's blog, which she was kind enough to link to her facebook update. I usually read it without the facebook reminder, but prompted this time through facebook I found an entry of hers about the virtues of something I've been troubled about for a while: finding the right homeschooling community. My girls attend a weekly meeting of semi-structured activities of a local homeschooling parent co-op. While this has been and continues to be a fun thing for them to do, Chris has to take them because it gets so Loud I go into I-hate-this mode within minutes of being there. Plus, I don't really get along well with any of the parents. We chat, they are fabulous, wholesome people, but I don't truly connect with any of them. Carrie's message of perseverance, of searching until I find a group the kids AND I like has inspired me to reach out in a way I haven't so far.

I've contemplated craigslist notices, homeschooling email group notices, flyers at the library. The text would read something like this:
"Pagan unschooling mom of two children, ages 8 and 4, looking for interesting families to share unstructured play dates and companionship. Rural xxxx/western Wisconsin area, willing to travel for meet-ups. Radical politics, below poverty level, subversive, witty and counter-culture interest a big plus. Must be open-minded."

How do I find the radicals? The not-religiously-conservative? The cultural and gender subversives? The not-necessarily wholesome? I am still thinking about it. But if you know any like-minded folk...

Once I let go of my need to make the situation of our current group work for me, I felt so free. Finally! It has really bugged and paralyzed me socially for years. And feeling free to let that go is utterly different and fun. I can't believe it has taken so long.

Assuming I find a small band of like-minded parents, the girls would still attend their weekly group if they want to. They really enjoy the friendships there, and the activities, sometimes. But this is about me - about meeting my needs. I have to at least try to find people I can click with. It's that important.

So thank you Carrie!