Old and New Stories, a Book Club and Other Unschooling Things

Maybe I should have been willing to let go of control of the unimportant things. There are times when I need to be a fun mum.

A few weeks ago, I received a letter from Fr James Tierney who is the author of the Bush Boys children’s books. Fr and I are old friends. We’re also writing buddies. And Fr is also a great source of inspiration and encouragement for me and my family.

As I was writing my reply to Fr’s letter, I realised that Fr Jim must have recently celebrated his anniversary of ordination. Which anniversary was it? I remembered going to a special lunch on Fr Jim’s 40th anniversary. Gemma-Rose had been a baby at the time. She’s now 15. So, after a quick bit of calculating, I decided that this year Father Jim must have celebrated 55 years of being an ordained priest.

I remember the day of Fr Jim’s 40th anniversary very well. It was also Andy’s birthday. We’d given Andy a special birthday breakfast in bed. Then we’d all climbed onto the bed and given him his gifts. There was lots of laughter and piles of torn wrapping paper and one very happy dad.

Then I’d called a halt to the celebrations: “Time to get ready to go out!” Everyone went to get dressed in their visiting clothes. And then it was time to leave.

I’ve forgotten to give you one essential detail of this story. The night before Andy’s birthday and Fr Jim’s anniversary, it had snowed! We rarely get snow where we live. More unusually, we’d had so much snow that it had settled on the ground. There was a white blanket covering the grass in our garden and the surrounding paddocks. It was only a very thin blanket, but we still thought it was very special. We’d all oohed and aahed when we’d first looked out of the window that morning. It was a wonder we’d been able to tear ourselves away from this extraordinary scene so we could give Andy his breakfast and gifts.

When we left our house to walk to our van, of course, my kids wanted to make snowballs and throw them at each other. Unfortunately, I wouldn’t let them. I said, “You’ll get wet and dirty. Quick! Into the van!” So my poor children had to climb into the car without experiencing the delights of snowballs. All the way to Fr Jim’s house, they looked out of the van windows at the snow with longing eyes.

While we were having a wonderful day with Fr Jim and other friends, there was a thought at the back of our minds: would the snow still be there when we got home? It wasn’t. It had melted away and become only a memory.

You know what? I regret not letting my kids make snowballs. I prevented them from having a unique experience in the unexpected snow. Imagine the smiles that would have appeared on their faces if I’d said there was time for a snow fight. But also, imagine them becoming wet and dirty just before we were leaving to visit friends. But I don’t suppose it would have mattered what my kids had looked like. They didn’t have to look perfect. Maybe I should have been willing to let go of control of the unimportant things. There are times when I need to be a fun mum.

READ Encouraging Kids to Write (and the Youngest Child in the Family)

I told this old story in this week’s podcast: Old and New Stories, a Book Club and Other Unschooling Things.

In episode 158, I talk about:

When my kids were younger by sharing a snow story and a homeschooling camp story.
How my ideas about how kids learn have changed.
How Gemma-Rose (15) has been enriching her own life.
Our family passion for musicals.
How our kids can come alive when they are involved with their passions and using their talents.
How young kids can join in with things we might think are too advanced for them.
My new Curious Unschoolers Book Club.
How Imogen, Sophie and I are travelling to Canberra on 31st August to meet up with other unschoolers.

Show Notes

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Photos

I took these photos of Gemma-Rose, Andy and Sophie while we were visiting my son Callum. We were at a lookout which has views out over the country town when Callum lives.