Zoe's 6th Birthday

Today my sweet little girl turns 6. We have been through a lot of changes in the past year, moving to Pennsylvania and living with my brother's family for a few months, moving back to Dallas, staying with Cheo's parents for a couple months, and then finally getting our own place. 

We started unschooling in the middle of all that, and learned a lot in the process. I unwittingly offended some people in my excitement about the discoveries we were making. Everything I was reading just seemed so right to me that I thought everyone would see the brilliance if I just told them about it. I mean, Cheo did, so wouldn't everybody? No. They wouldn't. I was wrong. Dead wrong. And I harmed some relationships in the process. And I grieved. Am still grieving. But we learned from that.

We learned that the choice we've made to embrace natural learning is not the right choice for everyone, and that's ok. We learned that few people in our lives will understand or agree with our approach, and that ultimately it doesn't matter if they do. We learned that as we change and grow, not all our family and friends will accept our choices, and may become offended or angry that we are not following the traditional approach to parenting and education. We learned to make the choices that are right for OUR family, regardless of others' opinions.

When I talk with Zoe, I am constantly amazed at the creative ideas she has that would never have occurred to me. Yesterday, it was, "Mom, can I use the nail polish to paint?" My response, "Hey, sure! That's a great idea!" She had a blast and painted an atom, complete with protons and electrons, although I'm pretty sure she doesn't know what they are yet. She will often combine different liquids in the house "to see what happens." We get to see some really cool things. My favorite right now is pouring a bit of milk into anything and watching it make cloud-like forms. But the best part is spending every day with this precious soul who thinks the whole world is exciting! I get to re-explore everything and see many things from a wholly new perspective.

Life is good. Our home has acquired a Chinese Dwarf Hamster (Fluffy) and a Chiweenie puppy (Mrs. Muffins - Muffins for short.) And peace. We are beginning to see some of the tangible differences of peacefully parenting and partnering with our beautiful daughter and are helping her to navigate this awesome world. I've found myself astonished and gladdened when the freedom we have allowed her has led her to a choice that I would never have considered an option. She is a very intelligent and kind young lady already at 6, and she sees the world from her own very unique perspective. I will continue to help nurture her wonderful "Zoe-ness" and watch her bloom.