Touch the FISH EYE!

One of the most beautiful aspects of unschooling is the "let's try it!" mentality that you cultivate. You really try to say "YES" whenever possible. Say "YES" first then figure out how to get it done. Isn't it wonderful to think of a life full of Yeses instead of a life full of Nos? How would our lives be different if we had been told "YES" as much as humanly possible?

Magnificent!

Finny and I were in Whole Foods and he was looking at the fish. He really wanted to buy a whole fish and cook it. He's seen whole fish eaten on catoons and I know he thinks this fish is gonna be like a cartoon fish. So, instead of me explaining in my oh-so-smart adult voice that the fish will NOT be like the fish in the cartoons, we just buy the damn thing.

We take him home (it's a him, for some reason). Finn wants to hold him in the car, he's so fascinated by it. He tries, but finds the ice too cold so we put it back in the bag. We get home and set him up on a plate. We feel him, we stroke him, we smell him. Finn is OBSSESSED with his eyes. He really, really wants to touch it, but can't make himself. I do it and act wild and crazy as if the eye is really gross (it's not). We wait for Dad to come home. Dad touches it too. We tease Finny about having to eat the eye. I had to go to play practice, but the boys cooked it on the grill. Needless to say: Not so much like a cartoon.

You live and you learn, right?

Love,

Michele, Jack, Finnigan the Curious and a dead fish

Finn's Room

Wouldn't you just LOVE to have a good picture of your room when you were 4? I remember my room in my tweens, but not too much before that. I have seen some tiny, blurry pictures (oh, those cameras from the 60's), but they don't show much. I try to take some pictures of his room every now and then so he can look at them later. And, even cooler, him showing them to his children.

I am obsessed with Finn's room. I would be totally embarrassed to admit how many times I've redone it. I, literally, spend hours thinking about how to make it look better, work better, feel better. I am SUCH a homebody - my space is extremely important to me and I want Finn to feel that his room is special and important.

Check out the new, retro blue typewriter I just found for him. I had been looking for one FORever - very hard to come by. This one is a Coronita! (Just like the tiny beers,) Doesn't it look like heaven over there on that little brown table with the light streaming in on it.? He's learning to read and write and it seemed like just the unschooling thing to give him a new "toy" for practicing.

Can you see the costume rack? He has SO many costumes and I just couldn't find a way to keep them accessible. Then it dawned on me to just put up a towel bar and hang them right there. I love the way it looks when you walk in his room and see those super bad red Superman boots (Thanks Grandmary!). Are those things awesome, or what?! We also have an old trunk that looks like a pirate treasure chest. It's stuffed full of props and costume gadgets. I'm such a geek that when I tidy up his room I always leave the Merlin hat peeking out of the dress-up chest; I just love the way it looks - all blue and silver and magical.

That karate picture is his newest costume (and interest). When we went to Chinese New Year celebration he was really into the martial arts performances. We got some books at the library and then rented the Karate Kid movies. Those movies are SO good! I had forgotten how cool they were. Finn could spend hours playing karate. I do mean HOURS. He and Jack get on the trampoline and kick and trip and HIYA! all day long.

HIYA! to you too, sensai.

Love,

Michele, Jack and Finnigan the Curious

The Boys of Summer

My "baby" has signed up for tee-ball and is intent on playing.

We're thrilled, of course, but I am finding it hard to believe that he's old enough for organized sports. At first I thought he was just into the uniforms because he is VERY into dressing up. But he stuck to his guns even after he got all the gear and said he really wanted to play on real team with other players.

I was all teary with the cuteness of it. I had to call my best friend, Martine, from the field. She has an only boy and knows just how I feel about my "baby."

I have such wonderful memories of Little League. Well, my brother playing; girls weren't "invited" back then. They certainly are now! Hooray! Those long summers full of sunburns, summer crushes, snow cones, Cokes and corn dogs. I can remember every candy offered in the concession stand. I can remember my brother and all his friends; how they looked when they played, what team they were on.

One of the boys that my brother played Little League with died recently. When I heard the news I could just picture him at that old field. He was tall and gangly - all arms and legs. I bet Finny will look just like that in a few years.

Good 'ole Charlie Bennefield...safe travels, old friend.

Finny and Jack are so cute practicing together. Finn and I play a lot during the week, but there's just nothing cuter than a boy and a Daddy playing ball. Sigh.

I hope to always be totally supportive of Finn's interests and desires. I think it's so easy when it's something cool like tee-ball. I hope I am as enthusiastic and gracious when it's, oh, I dunno, the Army or something like that which bothers me personally. I hope to always trust that he knows what's best for himself. I know at my core that it's my job is to love HIM, not what he "does" (or doesn't do for that matter). I suppose these are the things that separate the men from the boys, so to speak.

Hope y'all can come watch a game. Finn will be the beautiful one hitting home runs. I will be the mama with tears in her eyes yelling the loudest. Oh, I bet jackdaddy will have "something in his eye" too - he's that kind of sweet Daddy.

Love,

Michele, Jack and Finnigan the Curious