Tuesday, April 28, 2009

I had a bit of an epiphany this morning and needed to write it out in order to organize my thoughts around it.

Unschooling is about parenting the child in front of you instead of the adult they may become. I've had to let go of a lot of "what ifs" in order to unschool and it has made me a more present parent. I recently wrote that motherhood should come with a crystal ball because I was frustrated about how I could know I was doing the right thing. Now I realize that I don't need to see the future to know this; I just need to look at my kids RIGHT NOW to know if their PRESENT needs are being met. The future is made in the present and if the present is peaceful, intriguing, fun, loving, and mindful then the future will be as well.

3 comments:

Conman said...

I agree!
great post!

Molly said...

Love your epiphany! Less with school, but more with other things, I often worry about my kids in the future (you know, the "will they be in therapy" types of questions).

Molly

Simply Mother said...

Hey, I just found you through the blog thread on Mothering, and I'm glad I did. This post is very relevant for me right now, and so is the next one. Just be present!

I find that I make so much trouble for myself by believing (truthfully or not) that the PRESENT problem/emotion/behavior is a result of something wrong I did in the PAST. So instead of being fully present with the current situation, I'm getting angry at myself all over again, which of course only serves to make me less able to give what is needed in the present.

And I think I'll stop now before I start sounding like Dr. Seuss. ;)