Homeschooler Relatives

Hey, yesterday's post was my 100th one! I'll celebrate by taking a sip of coffee.

Last evening, I watched the Special Features on Disc 5 of the "Medium" first season set. It was interesting to learn how the show was conceived and developed, how the cast was chosen, and where the weird title music came from. The show's creator, Glenn Gordon Caron, explained how the real-life Allison DuBois, and her family, inspire the story lines. He talked about the importance of the low-key portrayal of Allison's family (right down to the very lived-in house), and how integral that is to the show, almost more so than Allison's crime-solving abilities. They feel the normal family scenes balance out Allison's abnormal adventures, and make for a more believable show. They first pitched "Medium" to ABC, where it was rejected, and then they ended up at NBC as a mid-season replacement in 2004.

*************

Continuing with another thought-line from the prior post: There's more I could say about some of the relatives that homeschool----- Husband's two nephews and their wives. Both families spent time here last month during the days after Father-in-law's death.

One of the families lives in a suburb of Chicago, and their version of homeschooling includes many activities shared with other homeschoolers. That is good......the kids are socializing and making friends. The three little girls dress in the usual way, jeans and tees for play, and nice dresses for church.

The other nephew's family, however, is another story. They live in a more remote area in a southern state, and are involved with a strict Baptist church. The wife and daughters wear skirts and dresses all the time! One of the little girls surprised my daughter with this question: "Why are you wearing pants?" My daughter replied, "Because I like to, and they keep me warm." Making girls wear dresses all the time is just too far out of the mainstream, in my opinion. And it would never be practical here on the farm.

In the past, Father-in-law expressed concerns to us about this grandson of his who would write letters encouraging his grandpa to "accept Christ". That sort of talk is difficult for a life-long Lutheran to comprehend. At the end of one of the letters, the grandson wrote: "There are absolutely no reasons for rejecting Christ. But, whether you accept Christ or not, we are still your grandkids and still love you no matter what." This was a few years ago, and Father-in-law at some point told this grandson that he had crossed the line of propriety between a grandson and grandfather.

Anyway, while the nephew was here, he and I had a couple conversations. I tried, in a brief way, to explain some Lutheran beliefs to him, especially about the idea of "accepting Christ". That you can't talk someone into doing it, because the only thing that can take place is Christ accepting us. I grew up in the same Baptist church that his mother did, so I understand where all his ideas originate. Probably, he heard many criticisms of Lutheran beliefs as he grew up. As are any of us, he was a captive to whatever beliefs his parents taught him.

My main concern, now, after seeing the situation, is that he and his wife are raising their kids with odd beliefs and a negative view of the world. I also noticed that he didn't seem to help his wife much with their four kids, aged 18 months to 7 years. At the funeral home visitation, he just stood in the corner while his wife struggled with the children. I almost went over and said something to him, but decided not to. His behavior seemed strange for someone who is supposedly a devout Christian.

His wife, who used to be overweight, now looks almost anorexic. She told me that she was able to have success losing weight once she became convicted of the sinfulness of her overeating. Looks like she may now have to become convicted of the sinfulness of her undereating. This family is in my prayers. I wish them the best, but I can't agree with much of what they're doing.