The healing journey of a widowed, unschooling badass in Delaware.
He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?
Micah 6:8 ESV
Humility means surrending the ego. You must choose what to surrender it to. God represents the highest ideal I can imagine, a good home for my ego when I can release it.
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Westen’s first speaking role was as a messenger in Macbeth. Although only a few lines, he had to deliver them alone and in front of the curtain during a scene change.
He was so comfortable and there was no doubt that there would be more plays in his future.
He seems most suited for villians and comics on stage, but his recent passion for behind-the-scenes work has him student directing a production of Much Ado About Nothing this summer.
Can you define what a “day” of public education is? In Delaware, the government does not define it, so homeschoolers and public school officials all pretend attendance means something. We all know kids and teachers are all screwing off with half days and bullshit time fillers during the final weeks of the school year, but these 5-10 days count toward the 180? The system has a thin facade of competency.
I don’t school my children at all (excepting when I slip into the old trauma patterns I learned in school).
We live with the seasons. We learn as the sun comes up and goes down. We learn as we live. We do not live in a cinderblock building. We live in the loving spaces of God’s Creation and try to create more love in the world as we engage it with enthusiasm and curiosity.
Westen has gone from an elder statesman of the youth program to a full fledged member of the adult classes.
I’m excited to see how he will grow in an environment full of potential mentors. We are continually blessed by our membership at Elevated Studios.
The white represents glacial progress.
Language is one of the strangest things about widowhood. The marriage is legally disolved, is her family still my “in-laws”? No one posseses the children in my charge, but they are “ours.” The decisions my wife and I made for our family are relevant today, so I often say “my wife and I” in present terms. Yet, I have a loving girlfriend…try dropping those relationship terms without context.
You get used to the weirdness, but it is unusual to be a widowed parent of minors, it will always be weird.
Four (or more) witnesses, all aged 13 or under, from three (or more) families were enjoying their free-range privileges far from parental eyes when things got out of hand.
My elder son and his rowdy buddy found a frog. It was alive and then it was dead. That’s where agreement seemed to end as I texted with the other parents hours later.
My patience is most pressed when I am lied to. My son was not forthcoming with the truth and I could only walk away from him to check back with the other parents for more pieces of the story.
A short lecture on respecting all life and the danger and hurtfulness of deceit was the consequence.
I can’t know what happened in the woods. Those who made bad decisions will be judged by their peers and God, I don’t see much of a role for myself. It’s the kind of uncomfortable relinquishing of control that defines free range parenting. As Bridget Phetasy says in her interview with Lenore Skenazy, “That’s kid stuff, don’t bother the adults with it.”
Going all out at Iron Hill Park in Newark.
These kids are wild. The jungle gym in the way of the zipline, the pool underneath, the slide on top…all madness cooked up by a team of madmen.
On Tuesdays I host an unschool club at our house. Kill Baby Thanos! was the first name for our comics-centric club, but the reference may be too obscure and dark for most homeschooling parents.
I love the graphic my girlfriend designed, and we embrace the chaos that Thanos was driven to thwart, so he gets to stay.
I’ll reveal the new name and graphic shortly as I broaden the scope of the club to make space for unstructured play in the spirit of unschooling.
I had to climb out the bathroom window, but the magnolia finally presented us with a bloom for our dining room table centerpiece.
