Forgive me, but I find this cartoon hysterical! If you’re not a homeschooler, you may not get it. If you’re a homeschooler and you don’t get it, you’re probably the family this woman would be nervous about! This is a cartoon from Todd Wilson, a.k.a. the Family Man. Todd had a booth at the GHEA conference in Atlanta at the beginning of the month. I think Kelly B., from our old homeschool group, bought every book he sold. My favorite was something like Help! I’m Married to a Homeschooling Mom. I subscribed my husband to the Family Man Weekly e-newsletter, but I think his spam filter is nabbing it.

Donna M. and Kelly B. and I stood at the conference reading the cartoons in his books. I was laughing so hysterically I was crying. There was one that I kept trying to read aloud, but I would get so tickled I couldn’t talk. At my awesome surprise birthday party, Donna gave me a tape of Diana Waring’s “Hilarious Homeschool Workshop.” She talks about disarming people’s defenses with humor. I have really been thinking about this; it’s amazing how much smoother life within the clan is when we inject a bit of humor. Bun is a bit of a goofball, so it comes pretty naturally to him. I, on the other hand, have a tendency to get a little uptight about what I think we need to be doing or accomplishing. I have noticed how great things are when I allow myself to be just plain silly (which I realize isn’t much of a stretch – maybe I’m a bit of a goofball, too). “Disarmed” is the correct description of what it does to the kids; they stare like I’m crazy, then they get with the program, too. Maybe we have a house full of goofballs. Could be worse…