with at least some of that Anhata - I've been thrown back into full-time work too, and it's only a matter of weeks before I'm not physically at home as I am now. It's our own business so we have more flexibility and I'm trying to be a full-time mother a bit longer but it's not easy. Maybe you could work towards having your own business or something you could do from home once the immediate crisis is over.

I guess it's a good thing about DD - it will make it an exciting time for her rather than her feeling like she's being abandoned, which is probably how you see it at the moment. You're not abandoning her - say it aloud every day until you're convinced. If DD loved the whole homeschooling set-up it would be even harder for you. I can only hope you find a job you love to make the wrench less awful for you.

And it probably is only temporary. If it doesn't work out you'll find some other way round it. There are almost always options - some are lousy and some are less lousy, and sometimes you find one you can really live with. Maybe once DD is older she'll want to homeschool again, or maybe not. As much as I love the idea of homeschooling I've always felt that it cannot fit every family and every situation and every child and every parent, even though there are plenty of shapes it can take. If the main homeschooling parent isn't a social animal, and you aren't blessed with lots of kids in your neighbourhood there's a good chance, unless your kids is naturally introverted, that you will struggle to avoid isolation. I expect your DD will bounce back pretty quickly once she's got all those new friends at school, but of course there will be some kids to make comments on the different background - we get that now and then too because my two were born and raised in Singapore until a year ago. Most kids are just curious, but some are definitely mean. You'll just have to force yourself to listen to her stories about school when you're dog-tired and just want to crawl into a hot bath, watch out for warning signs.

I'm rambling again... Anhata, you'll cope. Just because you're having to take a few shortcuts off your own high parenting standards for a while doesn't mean you've failed. It isn't that straightforward. It hurts you, but that's different. Keep an eye on DD. Fingers crossed you find just the right school for her, as well as a dream job for yourself. Keep us posted and come gripe when you feel like strangling people.

Kerri.