Crawdads, Unschooling and Family Time

In that order, that's what we've done the past few days. Monday, we headed down to the little park near our house, it's got a pond and a little run-off area with rocks in the water that make perfect hiding places for crawdads. So, the boys did that from about noon until 6:30 that day! We had such a great time, though! I love the days that I can let go of 'stuff' and just *BE*, and that was one of those days! I wasn't interested in trying to coax them out of there, just so I could do things that I thought were important to me (such as house work, which REALLY needed to be done, but it's gotten done bit by bit over the past days). Actually, while we were all there together, it never occurred to me that I should be anywhere else but right there where I was! Such freedom...and such a Gift to really be in the Moment, priceless, really.

There were many, many children there, of all ages and backgrounds. And they were delightful. I was having just as much fun with children we were just meeting as with my own! Actually, one little guy, Eli, reeeeally liked me! He hung out with me far more than my very own boys, who were so engaged! Eli is 3, incredibly beautiful, and sweet as can be! As I meandered around, checking out everyone's catch or running around playing with Sage, Eli says "Can I hold your hand?" Of course! When I was headed to the Suburban to retrieve the marshmallows that Sage requested we get while we were picking up lunch, Eli asked "Can I walk with you" Yep! As we were sitting there watching the kids hunt for crawdads and sharing marshmallows with all our new friends, he says "Can I sit on your lap?" Oh, he was precious! I sometimes meet children that I feel such a connection with, immediately, even if I've never laid eyes on them before. And I have this deep feeling for them, like they could be one of my very own. I wonder...

So, the day was magic! We all had a grand time and were the last ones to leave. On our way home, we helped a couple little boys on their bicycles who were trying to ride home (one bike with a flat tire) and carry a big cup full of crawdads. We loaded up the bike, stopped at the station to air the tire, then followed them home, they on their bikes, and the crawdads safely stowed with us. It made for much easier riding for the boys, and I could just see how proud that made my boys feel, to help these children even in such a small way. Good stuff!

Tuesday, we had a little informal Unschooling Gathering at the Library. It was a meeting for people interested in learning more and a veteran US'er came to share her experience and wisdom. There were 5 of us there, plus all of our kiddos. We ate some delicious food and had a good conversation. After the meeting, Adeline and Amy came over to our house to play for a while. Amy and I had tea while they played in/out/around the house. Saylor thought we needed to take Adeline down to the crawdads, so we did that, too. They were all successful! It was great to be able to visit more with Amy, she's a groovy gal, that one! We're already making plans to visit them at their home in Deadwood when we return.

And today, we spent with Barb and Emma. All day, and it was so lovely! We met around 9:30, grabbed some disgusting breakfast sandwiches from BK (uggh, still wanna gag just thinking about it) and headed up the mountain to Old McDonald's Farm. OMF is a great idea, but a bit of a rip-off, price wise, I think. Hate to be a downer, but 24 bucks to pet some animals, um, yeah, kinda steep. They've got pygmy goats, llamas, poultry of many varieties, calves, lambs, pigs, etc. I guess I just love how Reptile Gardens treats the locals. You pay once, and go as many times for the rest of the year for free. Your first admission is your pass from them on! And we only paid 21 or something there, and they have crocodiles, and snakes, and orchids, and prairie dogs and a huge sandbox, and staff that actually knows all about these exotic things.

After OMF, we met some other friends at McDonald's for more disgusting food, which the boys hardly ate any of, because they were all about playing with Cole, Zach and Luke. Then, after quite a long playtime there, we came back to my house for a while, then headed to my mom's house for dinner and hot-tubbing. Dinner was great (chinese take-out) I ate too much, but I think I was just generally od'd on fast food for the day. Barb brought some oh, so delicious, chocolately, coconutty, oatmealy bars for dessert. Yum. I hot-tubbed it with Lauren, Jarod, Saylor, Stone, Sage and Emma (in the rain, which was really cool!) but all the other grownups stayed inside. They're all such fun kids!

Now we're home, the boys are out and I should be too! Sweet Dreams...