Mountain Life 6

The kids were safe for the minute. I couldn’t have been more miserable. Not because they were safe but because they were gone. The house and my heart were hollow and empty. The children that drove my every move for the last fifteen years were in another state and I felt lost. See, my children define me. They are what give me worth when the world hates me. God gave me that treasure and I had to remember that when I really wanted to crawl into bed and cry forever. Not saying I didn’t do my fair share of crying because I did.

There was work to be done still. I mentioned before our friends, Tony and Diana. They are our research partners in all the things life throws at us. Which has been a lot…I could write a book. LOL! So, the four of us dove in to research. We had to know all the law that could protect us and our children. Ignorance is no excuse. Come to find out, we did exactly what we should have.

The next morning, no one showed up to arrest me. They had no grounds because I had lawfully and effectively invoked my rights as a parent and as a sovereign American. The next step was to un-enroll the children from school; wouldn’t want a truancy officer showing up. This gets a little tricky because the first thing they asked when I called was where to send the children’s records.

I had never thought of home schooling my children. See, I have an 11th grade education. I never felt smart enough to educate my children. Not that I didn’t do well in school because I did but I didn’t have the little piece of paper saying I was smart. I dropped out of school to marry my lovely husband at age 16. I do not regret it for a minute but there was still that little whisper of doubt in the back of my head. Isn’t it funny how satan plants these little seeds? God stomped the seed! Want to or not, I would be home schooling my children for at least the next 18 months. God reminded me that I have been teaching them all along.

The school told me I would have to come to the school to sign the children out. I asked if they could just fax the paperwork but they told me no. It was against policy. This is a load of crap, BTW. Truth be known, I did not have to sign anything legally. Honestly, I never wanted to enter that building again. The bitterness was still very thick in my mouth but I prayed before I entered and God gave me the strength.

It is an amazing thing to watch people turn in less than 24 hours. Seven years, my family was a big part of this school (pre-k to 8th) of less than 100. My children had perfect attendance more years than not, played on the teams, excelled in their school work, and raise thousands of dollars. I worked concession stands, baked, and volunteered. None of it matter when I walked in the door that morning.

I went to the office to sign the papers. I was met with cold hate. When I finished signing, I asked to retrieve my children’s belongings. You want to know what they told me? It is really funny now that time has passed. They told me no. I was not allowed to go beyond the office. School had two weeks left before summer break and they would gather my children’s things then and the superintendent would bring them to my home. I was never allowed on the school grounds again. The cut was deep. Nick and Cilla had paid to go on a field trip the next week ($40 each.) I asked for a refund of their money and was told, get this, they would send me a check.

A note: I never got that check and none of Madison’s things and most of the other’s things were returned.

I am feeling a bit ill from this writing session. Until later, peace, love and God’s will.