Why do you homeschool? #homeschool

Why do you homeschool?

So we started on this adventure of homeschooling when my oldest, now 12, was towards the end of 4th grade and he is currently in 6th. He didn't actually start until 5th grade because of enrollment timelines so this is our 2nd year. 
Why do you homeschool? We get that question often and have in the past 2 years. I will say we are not, what most would call, a traditional homeschool family. 
Anyways, he just didn't like to go to school and would give me a hard time. He would wake up and get himself ready every morning but to actually get him out of the house was a chore. It wasn't like we were screaming at each other or fighting about it, it was more and back and forth "Just go to school and get it over with" "No I don't want to" "Just go" "I will tomorrow" "Lets go, you are going to be late and your teacher will be on you and me for it" and so on.  I had 2 other kids that went to the same school and it caused issues for the other kids too. They were late for school often because I would have to plead and beg for him to just go so their teachers would say something to me every now and again. It was very stressful. It was very trying on all of us. The school, of course, was all over me because of his attendance. Not his grades though because they were great, he was always honor roll and was even on patrol in 4th grade. The guidance counselor would tell me over and over how his grades would be affected but he would miss days here and there throughout the week, go in and pass the test without any issues. He always did all the work when he was at school and all the homework. Never had any problems with his ability to get the work done. Never had any behavior issues. Never had any trouble with him and other kids or him and his teachers. Everyone got along and there was nothing, really nothing. No one wanted to believe that, there had to be some reason, something going on, or something bothering him but there wasn't....there really wasn't.  I started talking to the teachers before the school started on me and before it became a huge issue because I did not want them to think I was unaware of what was going on. I did not want them to think I was not involved in what he was or wasn't doing. I was always at the school functions with all the kids, bringing stuff in for the class and teachers, and going to meetings and award ceremonies, and whatever else they had going on. I worked with the guidance counselor and his teachers in 3rd and 4th grade but nothing we came up with worked.  I tried taking everything away from him and we tried incentives but none of that really made a difference to him. He knew, as well as I did, that if he didn't have anything he would eventually get stuff back and there was really nothing he wanted bad enough to actually go to school. He also knew that he could not stay in his room forever because there were other kids here and they needed and wanted to do things and he was too young to leave home alone. He is not stupid and he has more common sense than alot of people. I have a ton of common sense so I guess that's where that comes from. The guidance counselor told me in 1 meeting to just lock him out. Well ok! Then have someone drive by and report some kid standing out there knocking over and over or the school officer (from the school across the street) stop by to see what was going on and have all the unnecessary help from the state knocking at my door because of something stupid like child neglect or whatever. No thank you lol. So that is what really started us with homeschool. I talked with the school on that and they didn't think it was a good idea because I was giving in or because he would not get all the social interactions, and that I would have to be available and involved and if he wasn't motivated enough to do the work it would be back to where we currently were. I would not have expected to get such resistance from the school, mainly the guidance counselor, but I did. The teachers, both his current and his previous, went along with it and told me if I needed anything to just let them know. I was going to give it a shot either way. If it didn't work out then he could always go back to public school at any point. 
I looked into the traditional homeschool option but it seemed overwhelming. It seemed like alot to keep up with the curriculum and find it all, especially with me having 5 kids. I didn't want him to fall behind or learn something other than what they were learning in public school because I eventually wanted him to go back. We happened to get a flyer from the school about Florida Virtual so I looked into it towards the end of this 3rd grade year. It seemed like a great option! It had everything set up as far as what needed to be done, benchmarks, and books. He would have an actual teacher and would be held accountable for his work and what he would need to do. There were different options for the virtual schools so we had to do some homework (alot actually!) with what curriculum we wanted to go with and what company, which is probably another blog post in itself lol. But we enrolled and we got started in the fall of his 5th grade year and its been great every since. There are some days when he will give me a hard time and not want to work but as long as he gets it done when it is supposed to be I leave it alone. He has the ability to do his work in the mornings, afternoons, or evenings. Sometimes he does some on the weekends. He will miss days here and there but he makes up for it.
And I know I have heard alot, and will probably continue to hear, about how he won't learn to be in the real world, he won't have friends, he won't be social. I have heard about how he will have to eventually get a job and abide by rules and won't be able to do things when he wants, etc. My logic is, he is still a kid. Yes, he is getting older and growing up and yes, I did kinda give in to what he wanted and he can't always get his way and he doesn't, he's not spoiled and he's not bratty. As far as social goes, he has had the same friends that come and go on a regular basis and he has been friends with them since 2nd and 3rd grade. He is a social kid and has no problem with that aspect.  But the homeschool option will not last forever, not as of now anyways. I did want him to go back to public school by the time he was in middle school, so that would have been last year, but the school we are zoned for his horrible (and that is putting it nicely, very nicely) so I did fill out the school choice application but he was not chosen for a different school so I will continue to fill out the school choice application each time it is open and when he gets in he will go back. I am hoping he is back in school by 8th grade. I don't want him to miss out on anything but we shall see where this takes us and for how long. :) In the mean time the goal was his education. He is learning, he is doing well, and no one is stressing about attendance.  
So why do you homeschool?