What I Get To Learn Every Day

I love the typical "day in the life" I get to experience as an unschooling dad. For example, I stay connected through Facebook, blogs, and personal contact with wonderful families every day. My favorite experiences come when I pay attention to the continuing unfolding of Shelby's life.

Shelby is awesome. She teaches me simple but valuable lessons constantly.Her favorite activities right now center around making jewelry and cheerleading. She dedicates a lot of time and energy to both. When Shelby becomes interested in anything she finds a way to pursue it. One of the most vital tools in Shelby's life has been You Tube.

Through You Tube Shelby has learned to do make up, create jewelry, improve gymnastic moves, and many other skills. Shelby's primary reading tool has been Facebook. Shelby's first major art teachers were the shows Miami Ink and L.A. Ink.

For me, I am grateful I get to participate in Shelby's life. I am as excited to assist her in pursuing her passions as I am to do anything else. Already at eleven she has been to Ireland, Germany, all over the U.S., the Caribbean, and Canada. She has scuba dived, been Zorbing,and seen Paul McCartney. Already her life has been as rich as many who have lived much longer. As a parent I see a big part of my responsibility as being willing to pay attention and facilitate as many opportunities for her to experience as much as possible. What a wonderful life.

What Life Is Good Reminded Me Of

My family and I returned home from the Life Is Good unschooling conference yesterday. What a wonderful experience!  This was the first time we attended this particular conference. I volunteered to speak, and fortunately Mary Gold allowed me the opportunity.

From the time we arrived in Vancouver, Washington we felt as if we had arrived home. There were several people we were excited to see and many more we looked forward to meeting. The first speaker was Laura  Endres. It was my first time to meet Laura and hearing about her family's experiences was inspiring. Many others stood out as well; Ronnie Maier is always a fantastic speaker, Danielle Conger connects like no other, and Ben and Kelly Lovejoy provide great guidance and wisdom. The weekend was capped off by a fabulous concert featuring Kimya Dawson and Amy Steinberg. It was the perfect ending to a great weekend filled with love, laughter, and fellowship.

Every time I participate in one of these events I am reminded of what is important to me and why I live the way I do. I laughed my ass off several times. I had deep conversations with people whose opinion mattered to me. I did not give a f*** about who may judge me as a parent. I realized that this is how I feel most of the time. I have managed to create relationships in my life in which I am able to connect with people who challenge me to stretch as a person without ever feeling like I can't measure up.

I hope you feel the same way about your life. If so, continue to share with people how you pull this off. If not find some people you can ask how to make changes so you can enjoy your life. I would love to hear about some of your experiences, so leave a comment or e-mail me at clint@clintstonebraker.com.