When someone asks you WHY, tell them you are a pioneer.

Years ago, we went through our old house with our sweet landlady. She hugged me and said we were the best renters she ever had - and she had MAJOR reservations in the beginning because of the size of our family. She gave me the biggest compliment... she said... "You and Erik are such pioneers. When the Spirit calls you to something you answer right away. I admire that."

I thought about that for a bit... I pondered our lives, what we do, how we do it and what our family means to each other.

I really did think about her words... that we were pioneers. What does that even mean? 
I guess I am one. 

People used to call it being wacky or weird or just plain odd. In my younger days I probably would have just been labeled or given myself a label of "alternative" and that is a fine label if you want to carry it. But pioneering means so much more. I think I had to fully stand in my own biography to grasp it all. When I started out breastfeeding and cloth diapering, I wasn't looking for a label, I just wanted what was best for my babies. When I decided to homeschool, I wasn't looking for a label either, I again was looking for what was best for my children. I found what was best for us in Waldorf and I began to align my thoughts and home life to Steiner's ideals and that put me in an odd category. 

When I started doing this, there were not many of us, we were pioneers. There was no curriculum really. There were conferences where we could learn how to put it all together, but these conferences were often taught by teachers, not homeschooling families back in those days.

I think we are all pioneers. All of us have likely pioneered in some way or another.
Are you a pioneer with homeschooling?
Maybe you are the first in your family to have taken the challenge?
Or maybe you are that pioneer that just started out being alternative and now that name doesn't really mean what it did...
Being a pioneer has such a welcoming and positive touch to it.

The next time someone asks you WHY you do something...
just tell them you are a pioneer, living the life you feel called to live.

You might also enjoy this blog post on how I find confidence here.