On Coming Home

Our trip across the state went well. Sage slept a good portion, and was well entertained for the other! When we could see the city lights, everyone got pretty excited and then we had to do "3 cheers for Rapid City!" Then Stone held up his arms (think showing off ones muscles) and said "I am the guard of Rapid City" in a very guardish, heroic kind of way.
When we arrived in Rapid City, it was dark and there was a bunch of snow on the ground from the big storm that had just passed the weekend before. We weren't home for 10 minutes, and both Saylor and Stone were OUTSIDE playing, in the DARK, in the SNOW! Our yard here is very small, but they stay amazingly busy in it. They've been outside so much these past days; more than they'd played outside in SF for months. We're all loving being home!
Our house is somewhat put together. Boxes still in a couple of rooms, of course, but we have a peaceful place to land in the living/family/dining room, and our bedroom. It feels so good to be here in this house again. My body just knows this house in so many ways. I gave life to Stone in this house. While I was pg with Stone, I saw an intuitive consultant who told me "this is the home that you will heal in". I did.
We've spent time with lots of friends already, too. Pammy K. helped get things looking beautiful! (thanks, darling!) We hung out and played with Kendra and her boys; and today we went to a Mother's Collective potluck in the park for Monica's birthday. Always in awe over the amazing women in this special little group of ours! Also got to see the Martinez girls in their new home for a couple of hours this afternoon. The kids were merrily slopping through the mud and spreading apple seeds. The moms (and dad) enjoyed the last bit of warmth from the sun as we sipped our beers. It was a lovely, lovely 70 degree, sunny day here today! Gotta love that Rapid City weather! I'm so thankful to be back in it! Gratitude, Gratitude, Gratitude. I'm feeling it all around! :)
Ahhhhhhh, it's good to be H*O*M*E.

Suffer

"In a nutshell, people whose lives are hard, boring, painful, meaningless -- people who suffer -- tend to resent those who seem to suffer less than they do, and will make them suffer if they can. People who feel themselves in chains, with no hope of ever getting them off, want to put chains on everyone else." -- John Holt, Teach Your Own, Introduction.

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This statement rings so true. I have had many experiences, especially regarding the choices we make as a family, that will point right back to this statement. Hmmmmm? Perhaps this is one worthy of printing and framing? So I can see it often enough to keep me seeing the beauty and truth of the path we've chosen.

Flow

Have you ever had a moment in time where everything just flowed so perfectly it nearly took your breath away? I had a long moment like that tonight. We finished dinner (the boys and I, John's out of town) and I started cleaning off the table and tidying the kitchen. All around me I had these 3 marvelous little boys completely absorbed in their chosen tasks. Saylor was having a little steam inhalation time (stuffy nose) which then turned into an experiment with more eucalyptus oil, another bowl and a dish towel being added into the concoction. Stone was playing with playdough at the table, wrapping up different tools in a blanket of purple playdough. Sage was busy (for well over an hour) working at his little work-station (two chair seats serving as just the right size table for him to stand by). He had markers, playdough, clay, and various sizes of cups and bowls. He was going back and forth and putting little pieces here then moving them to here and then poking them with his marker, and then taking them out of that cup and putting them into this bowl. So busy!
I was filled with such a warm feeling of gratitude during this beautiful moment I like to call ~ flow ~.

Sidenote:
Saylor prepared a very special dessert for this evening. He chopped up some fresh strawberries, crushed some malted milk easter eggs, smashed up some Hershey's Kisses with caramel, and stirred it all together. YUMMY! He was so proud of himself and kept saying, "how do you like it? it's good, huh?" Then I'd take a bite (another bite) and then comment on how great it tasted all together, then I'd hand him the bowl back, and he'd just sit there and watch me finish my bite, and then say "it's good, isn't it?" Noticing now that he wasn't eating any of it, just getting joy from watching me enjoy it so much. I told him I felt bad that I was eating all of it, and he said he didn't feel like any sweets right now. So, I happily finished off the bowl! :)

What we did today...

ate breakfast together
experimented with food color
mixed colors together to create new colors
smiled
made toilet paper sculptures
painted with Q-tips
played outside
bundled sage (the plant, not the baby)
rode our bicycles
enjoyed each other
ate our annie's mac & cheese on the deck in the sun
lit a fire in our chimenea
read books
watched Pink Panther cartoons
played Neopets
talked about trusting our inner voice
played Starfall.com
cozied up in bed together
fell asleep in each others arms
and too many other things to list! :)

Sunday

We've had a nice Sunday. Our day started with yummy egg/biscuit sandwiches, lovingly made by our very own Daddy-O. We skipped out on church today, and headed, instead, to the mall for a syrup/coffee/playland run. Back home at noon to meet with the realtor and get our house on the market! Sign is in the yard, and we're hoping for a quick sale! Then, Sage and I headed upstairs for a little nappy, while the big boys went to pick out a new bicycle for Stone. He got a very cool one, with flames, of course! :) Dad put it together for him, while we all spent some time outside together. It was a nice, sunny day. Sun, lovely sun! Saylor said he was hungry for chicken wings, so off Dad and Stone go to the store for just the thing. Saylor and I read a book together about the Underground Railroad. He's quite suprised that people would treat other people that way. He thought maybe he would have bought some slaves and then let them all go. He said he wouldn't have any whips, or shackles, or masters. He would just let them go. Yep, I love my boy! Now Dad and Saylor are cooking up the chicken wings, on the grill, and we'll be feasting soon. Stone and Sage are here with me, sitting on the couch together, watching the Pink Panther cartoons on DVD. I just looked over and Stone was trying to give Sage a kiss, and Sage loves to kiss back; all open mouthed and everything. That made Stone laugh, which, in turn, made Sage giggle. Cuteness!

Unschooling Article Interview

{The West Coast Bureau Chief for the Chicago Tribune based in Los
Angeles is writing an article on Unschooling. Following is my response to the questions he asked.}

My husband and I have 3 young sons. 7yo, 4.5yo, 15mos. We've been unschooling our children since birth, as it is a very natural progression of the lifestyle we adopted when they were born, which is 'attachment parenting'. AP is all about trusting your children to know when they need what. For example: a baby *knows* when he needs to nurse, for how long, they don't need *us* to put them on a feeding schedule. We nurse on demand. Also, a child knows when his nursing need has been completed. This is child led weaning. Some children wean as infants, others (more common if allowed) will wean when they are toddlers, 3 or 4 years old. We trust our children to know when they are ready to move out of our bed, into their own. We trust our children to know when they are ready to walk, talk, feed themselves, it's all on their own timetable, and *every* child is different. They won't all do these things at the same time, so why would we expect them to *all* be, for example, reading, when the public school says they should. So, we just extend this trust in our children to know that they will signal us when they are ready for new information (which is constantly) then it is up to us to provide a very rich and interesting environment for our children to have access to.

The reason we 'decided' to unschool, again, comes from how we'd been living our lives since they were born. My children have been the experts of themselves since they were born, living joyfully, learning all the time. Why, just because they turn *5*, would I turn them over to 'experts' who will tell my energy filled boys to sit down, be quiet, eat/drink/empty your bladder when I give you permission. My children have the freedom to be who they are and love who they are, without others telling them that something is wrong with them just because they aren't 'doing' something that the 'experts' say they should be.

A typical day for us can look quite different from day to day. Every day, we follow what the boys are excited about that day. Some days, it's long days at the park, others it's a trip to the library and hours of reading snuggled up on the couch. My 7yo enjoys Neopets right now, so he's proficient at getting to that site by himself, and checking out the new game of the day, as well as keeping a close eye on how many 'neo-points' he is racking up. We cook together often, we engage in very messy projects, with no worry about the end product; the process and the fun we are having together is our focus. Currently, the boys are active in our local homeschool gym days, Tae Kwon Do, playgroups, story times and volunteer activities. We are free to go where we want, when we want, and we are grateful for that.

Before children, I was a Kindergarten teacher. I now do Doula work (professional labor support) more as a hobby and a passion of mine. I also spend time supporting other mothers in their mothering journey.
We are a one income family.

If you need more, or clarification, let me know, Vince. I would love to see the completed article, if possible.

Thanks!
Karen