I met with some old high school friends last night. It had been more than fifteen years since the last time I had seen one of them, and the other it was over twenty years. We had a couple of coffees and caught up on each other’s news - and a little rowdy talk ensued as well.

It’s funny how our old friends sort of freeze in our minds as 17-year-olds. It’s still difficult for me to think of my friends as married, as parents of their own kids. There were moments last night when it seemed we were back in school, grabbing a coffee after class. And then we were talking about our marriages, about work and cars and our kids’ extra-curricular activities. It was like stepping into a time warp!

When people talk about homeschooling one of the big topics that comes up without fail is socialization. People who don’t agree with homeschooling think that we sit home all day, every day and our kids never get to see a human being outside the family. Those of us who homeschool know that, if anything, the opposite is true. We have to pick & choose our opportunities carefully, otherwise we’d end up running ourselves ragged with all the “outside” activities!

But as parents, it’s just as important to remember our own socialization. When we spend our days and nights with the kids, going out to classes and homeschool activities, running errands with them & working on math and grammar and social studies projects that perhaps we thought we would never have to think about again, we have to take time for ourselves to do something not related to kids or their studies.

Take time for a “date night” and get out with your spouse, go out for coffee with a friend, have a good hot soak in the bathtub, join a gym or take an art class just for you. Just remember that every once in a while, the parents need to do something to nurture themselves. When I was studying Gerontology this was called “care for the caregiver.” It may sound like just so much jargon, but it is a much needed part of any parent’s life. Particularly for those of us who spend so much of our lives with our kids.

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