Very few modern Heathens can honestly claim they were born and raised in the religion. At some point, the majority of us made the conscious decision to become Heathen, even though we knew how we would be viewed by the general population. We didn’t care, we were following our hearts and doing what we knew was right. Most of us would do the same all over again.

 The same can’t be said for our children. They’ve grown up praying to the gods, their ancestors, and gifting the spirits of the land. They take it for granted. They’ve probably never set foot in a church, barring the occasional wedding or funeral. They eagerly await Yule and Ostara every year. They are clueless when someone mentions Noah’s ark, but yell, “Hail Thor!” every time they hear thunder.

As much as it warms our hearts that our kids have the opportunity to grow up in our folkway, we can’t forget that they live in a far different world than we do. They have some very perilous territory to navigate, and holding beliefs that are different from the majority make it that much harder.

I’m referring, of course, to grade school.