I met Lisa three years ago. I have two boys, 7 ½ and 4½. About three years ago, I realized I was going to homeschool. I knew one person who was homeschooling and no one who had kids the age of mine. So, I got on-line and joined some homeschooling e-mail loops in my area to get started, find out what was going on, meet people. One of these was Tri-County homeschoolers.
My first monthly newsletter arrived and I poured over it. I noticed a program that looked particularly interesting to me. Nervously, I called the contact person. It was Lisa. I introduced myself on the phone, told her my story and asked if I might ask her just a few questions.
Well, that was the last moment I remember being nervous about entering the homeschooling world. Lisa (who didn't know me from a hole in the wall) talked to me for at least an hour and a half. She answered my questions, offered me all sorts of information, and acted as my therapist, allaying my fears and addressing my concerns. She recalled her beginning days and fears and how they worked themselves out. She talked to me about her philosophy and how she homeschooled. There was just so much she gave to me and time she spent with me. It was such a gift.
At the very end of the conversation, I was saying goodbye and thanking her profusely, when I happened to ask her if she celebrated Passover. That night was the first Seder night, and if she did celebrate, I wanted to wish her a happy Pesach. Turns out that, not only did she celebrate, but she was in the midst of preparing her house for Pesach and a whole slew of relatives coming that night as she was preparing the first night's Seder at her house. I said, "Why are you on the phone with me??!!" and promptly hung up.
I hung up the phone, thinking I had just met the nicest, warmest person. And I was right. By the end of the conversation, I felt like I knew her. I couldn't believe how much time she took with me. She could have told me to call her back in three days, after the Seders were over. She never even mentioned that she was in the midst of this huge preparation. It was me who had brought up the subject of Passover.
After talking to her, I felt so much relief about my homeschooling decision and moving forward with it. I felt like it was do-able and that no, I wasn't crazy. I felt like I had just made a friend. And I must have talked about her for at least the next week to my family and friends. I knew right away that I had met a very beautiful person.
When I met Lisa in person, shortly after that, I already knew her. Of course, I thanked her profusely again, and she shrugged it off as if it was nothing. But it wasn't nothing and I will never forget her kindness.
Since then, we have taken several programs together for the kids. I will always remember walking around Closter Nature Center with her on nature hikes and sitting in the nature classes with her, as both Ruby and my two boys wanted us participating in the class. That was lucky for me because it gave me more of a chance to get to know Lisa and call her my friend.
I will miss her kindness, her warmth, her energy, her insight, her knowledge. I wish I had the opportunity to get to know her better. I am thankful I had the opportunity to get to know her at all.
Love, Joni Corn
My first monthly newsletter arrived and I poured over it. I noticed a program that looked particularly interesting to me. Nervously, I called the contact person. It was Lisa. I introduced myself on the phone, told her my story and asked if I might ask her just a few questions.
Well, that was the last moment I remember being nervous about entering the homeschooling world. Lisa (who didn't know me from a hole in the wall) talked to me for at least an hour and a half. She answered my questions, offered me all sorts of information, and acted as my therapist, allaying my fears and addressing my concerns. She recalled her beginning days and fears and how they worked themselves out. She talked to me about her philosophy and how she homeschooled. There was just so much she gave to me and time she spent with me. It was such a gift.
At the very end of the conversation, I was saying goodbye and thanking her profusely, when I happened to ask her if she celebrated Passover. That night was the first Seder night, and if she did celebrate, I wanted to wish her a happy Pesach. Turns out that, not only did she celebrate, but she was in the midst of preparing her house for Pesach and a whole slew of relatives coming that night as she was preparing the first night's Seder at her house. I said, "Why are you on the phone with me??!!" and promptly hung up.
I hung up the phone, thinking I had just met the nicest, warmest person. And I was right. By the end of the conversation, I felt like I knew her. I couldn't believe how much time she took with me. She could have told me to call her back in three days, after the Seders were over. She never even mentioned that she was in the midst of this huge preparation. It was me who had brought up the subject of Passover.
After talking to her, I felt so much relief about my homeschooling decision and moving forward with it. I felt like it was do-able and that no, I wasn't crazy. I felt like I had just made a friend. And I must have talked about her for at least the next week to my family and friends. I knew right away that I had met a very beautiful person.
When I met Lisa in person, shortly after that, I already knew her. Of course, I thanked her profusely again, and she shrugged it off as if it was nothing. But it wasn't nothing and I will never forget her kindness.
Since then, we have taken several programs together for the kids. I will always remember walking around Closter Nature Center with her on nature hikes and sitting in the nature classes with her, as both Ruby and my two boys wanted us participating in the class. That was lucky for me because it gave me more of a chance to get to know Lisa and call her my friend.
I will miss her kindness, her warmth, her energy, her insight, her knowledge. I wish I had the opportunity to get to know her better. I am thankful I had the opportunity to get to know her at all.
Love, Joni Corn
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