Why This Unschool Mother Doesn’t Care
He who doesn’t care has more power.
I heard those words somewhere, scribbled them into my journal, and then pondered them. Are they true? Should we care? Or are there some things we shouldn’t waste our time caring about?
One thing I do care about is my son Callum and his passion for cars. Recently, I’ve become very interested in classic cars, not just because talking about them connects me to Callum, but because they are fascinating.
The other day, when I walked to our village to buy a takeaway coffee, my eyes lit up with delight when I saw an old Holden outside the cafe. A group of men were sitting near the car, enjoying their coffee, so I asked if any of them owned the car. I wanted permission to take a few photos. I also wanted to know what kind of car it was. It was a 1963 EJ Holden.
Did you know the EJ Holdens were only produced for 2 years? The 1963 version was replaced by the EH Holden. The EJ model replaced the EK one, differing only in the exterior body work.
How do I know all this? When I returned home with my coffee, after chatting with the men at the cafe for a while, I did some research. I fell down a rabbit hole as I read articles and looked at photos. I also chatted with Callum and my mother about cars via text messages. I discovered when I lived in Brisbane as a child, our family vehicle was an EJ Holden station wagon.
Rabbit holes and conversations are wonderful ways to learn, aren’t they?
I told my car story in episode 208 of my podcast, Stories of an Unschooling Family.
Here’s a brief summary of what I shared in Why This Unschool Mother Doesn’t Care:
Additional thoughts about episode 207
My new passion for classic cars
Why we should take an interest in our kids’ interests even if we don’t think we will like them
A couple of books and a TV show
Why I no longer care
Why we shouldn’t let other people’s opinions decide how live our lives
Jumping rope or skipping for exercise
How we learn by diving into rabbit holes and having conversations
Fabulous ways to learn art history
And loads of unschool thoughts about loads of things
Show Notes
Podcasts
Da Ladies Fixing the World podcast
Books
Lola in the Mirror by Trent Dalton
Practical Theology by Peter Kreeft
TV Series
Fake or Fortune?
People
Mel Robbins
Music
Camouflage by Joseph O’Brien
Blog Posts
How to Beat Time Who Jolts Us Forward Without Permission
Time moves us forward without our permission. If we don’t want to look back with regret, we should stop worrying about the future and focus on the present moment, extracting joy from each unschool day before it disappears.
Strewing to Share Passions and Keep Our Bonds Strong
Driving past a cafe in town, I spied a blue racing car. “I need a photo of the car to send to Callum!” I cried. So Andy turned the car around and headed back to the cafe. As we parked the car, my husband said, “Do you want to jump out and get your photo while I sit here?” Of course, that’s not what I wanted. We were outside a cafe. I needed coffee. So, Andy ordered coffee while I took photos of the blue racing car and talked to the people sitting in the sun in front of it.
My Unschooling Books
If You’d Like to Support My Work
Receive access to my password-protected blog posts and my thanks!
So, I’m wondering
Will you listen to episode 208 of my podcast?