A new path

Last night, after a nice dinner on the deck, we watered everything in the yard because it wasn't supposed to rain for three more days and things were looking pretty dry.

So tonight it's raining.

I guess that should be a good reminder that no matter how much planning we do, life and nature have their own way of going and we just have to go along with it. I've mentioned, time and again, moments when I've needed to remind myself to go with the flow that Calvin is creating in his own learning world. Lately I think I've gotten off the path again, and being lost in the woods of malcontent is not a fun place to be. Blame it on lack of sleep, or on summer heat, but being lost in those woods has made me stop to take stock of the surroundings and reorient with the compass.

And since a metaphor can only go so far, I've actually been revisiting my beliefs about schooling and learning. As much as I believe that unschooling is or can be a beautiful thing, it's along that path in particular that we seem to lose our way. Sitting with Jon after bedtime tonight I was lamenting what I saw as failures on my part and he pointed out that both Calvin and I seemed much more focused and content when we had more structure around us, like when we were trying out the Five in a Row curriculum, for instance. That may be me, or it may be Calvin, but since we are learning together I don't think it matters. Most importantly I now have to embrace the true meaning at the heart of unschooling, which is to simply go with the flow, and right now our flow is taking us towards a slightly more structured path. We'll still be among the trees, but maybe it will be in a coniferous plantation instead of a wild woods.

It's a beautiful soaking rain outside right now, the kind that falls straight from the sky in soft, drenching droplets. This is fine because rain is so much more beautiful and calming than a sprinkler, and because no matter how much artificial watering I do, only a good, natural rain can really enliven the garden.

Plus this way the rain barrels are being replenished.