I’ve been reading _Affluenza_, by deGraaf, Wann, and Naylor. It’s taken me forever to get through it, but not because of the subject matter. Mostly because of the time of year. I started reading it right before a very busy four weeks of Three Sisters work. Very intense and extremely seasonal. In Chapter 19 of the book, they have the following quote:
Think of Mother’s Day. The most tender and sacred human relationship is turned into a means of sales promotion by advertising experts and made to turn the wheels of business. — Wilhelm Ropke, _A Humane Economy_, 1958
Just about the time I read this passage, I came across a website that listed ten handmade things for Mother’s Day. After searching my browser history (man, I visited a lot of places!), I see the original source here at CraftZine. It really inspired me in the work I do over at Examiner.com — the article is here.
One great benefit to our home schooling (and working at home) has been the absence of commercialism. Not being surrounded by peer pressure to have material things truly frees a person. We can be in the world without being of the world. I feel that my home and family are better than if we lived a conventional life — more wholesome, more sincere, more independent, and more moral. It’s a life of intentional, purpose-filled, choosing.