Home School Heartbeat Radio Program

Mike Smith: Heidi, on our last program, you told us about “That Girl”—the girl your husband married. But a lot of moms haven’t seen “That Girl” for a long time. Where did she go?

Heidi St. John: Well, she’s in the homeschool vortex. Seriously! I think that there is such a place because I’ve been there. In the homeschool vortex, it’s all homeschool, all the time. It’s crock pots and curriculum, your bedroom is full of curriculum and homeschool magazines, and everything in the house takes a back seat to your kids and homeschooling.

Also, I think inside the vortex, the myth of the perfect homeschool family—and it’s a myth—is alive and well. So, once you’re in, you need help to get out. I was totally in there, and eventually it caught up with me. I was tired; I didn’t have any energy for Jay. And one day he took me on a date and he just—in the middle of conversation—he just said he missed me, and he recognized that we had started to grow apart.

Now I am a child of divorce, and I know firsthand the pain it inflicts. And this was a huge wake-up call for me. So we decided together that we would make some changes. We started to learn more about each other’s world by asking questions at the end of the day. And then we made it a priority to get a handle on how we were dealing with the free time that we had as a family. It was the best decision we ever made.

Mike: Well, Heidi, I know this program is going to be tremendously helpful for a lot of moms listening who would like to find “That Girl” again! We’ll talk more about it next time. And, until then, I’m Mike Smith.