Beautiful Things

This week has been full of beautiful things. The boys have been surprising me with their observations all week and I just feel compelled to record them here. To some they seem mundane but to me they are evidence that my children are not little drones. They are sensitive, thoughtful people and I absolutely adore them.

Monday, we were riding in the car and both boys were looking out the window and exclaiming, “Oh! Look at those leaves, they are amazing!” Their delight at the colors of fall was contagious and I felt my heart swell with love to hear my boys discussing the beauty of the season. The other night, we were watching the debate with Iain, (Ryan had asked to go to bed earlier!) and he was really into the whole thing. Who did we like and why? Why did these people want to be President. When I was a kid never in a million years would I be caught dead watching that with my parents and I loved that there we sat, snuggled up on the sofa watching a debate. Nevermind that I don’t like anyone up there, it’s important to be informed on every candidate. Even those with whom one disagrees. Yesterday, Ryan was getting to have a special kid mosh(playdate) with his friend, Daniel. Daniel’s mom was coming to get him and they were going to go out to dinner. Since Iain was going to stay home, I told him I would take him out for the new Super Mario game and we could play while Ryan was out. Well, Iain didn’t feel right about the game only belonging to him so he told Ryan that they could share it. He’s so sweet and unselfish. I really love that about him.

Eveer since watching, Meet the Robinsons, Iain has been really into creating inventions. He has a notebook in which he records all of his ideas and it’s amazing to see some of the things he has come up with. Ryan also has a book of ideas and both boys will sit, huddled around a table, surrounded by colored pencils and crayons, and I can hear them oohing and ahhing over each others ideas. This is especially beautiful to me. The support they show one another is incredibly moving. I don’t remember my sister and I ever doing that. We were so competitive with one another, still are to some degree, but I really don’t see that so much with Iain and Ryan. It’s there, just not like it was for me and I’m really overjoyed about that. I hope this means that they will always be close friends.

All of these things are evidence to me that homeschooling/unschooling works. They are not subject to the whims of teachers or peer pressures that exist in public schools. Iain can still enjoy an episode of Blues Clues without fear of ridicule. Our little family is so close. The kids come to us with everything, good and bad. There is no more hiding mistakes out of fear of punishment because the punishment doesn’t exist. We recognize that they are growing and learning from their mistakes, as we still do, and they reward us with their honesty and openness. We’re not perfect, I still sometimes revert to my conventional parenting ways, and on those days, the boys, too will revert but it’s easy enough for us to get back on track and respect each other and love one another.

I wanted to say “I’m sorry” to Stephanie for taking so long to get around to her Meme, recognizing the wonderful moments with our children for a week, and I hope that she sees it (whenever she gets a computer). I’m glad she challenged us to look for the beauty in our relationships.

It’s been a great week!