For Mother's Day - Growing up together

Families grow up together.  As much as I’ve watch my kids grew up, they have watched me grow up too.  We’ve learned to communicate together.  I learned to be patient and flexible.  They have learned perseverance and forgiveness.   We’ve tackled hard times together.  We celebrated personal victories together.  To me that’s what being a family is about.  We share our lives for better or worse – learning and growing and letting go.  Even though my kids will probably be moving out soon and having more separate lives from us, I expect that we will still be growing up together.  They will watch me take on new adventures as an empty nester and they will see us grow old.  We will watch them start families and careers of their own.  We will answer their late night calls about sick babies or broken pipes just like my parents did.  They will help us understand the latest technology.   I never thought of myself as “the teacher who knows all” or thought of my children as “my apprentices”.   They have taught me just as much as I have taught them.  I’m so glad I’ve had companions to travel with me through my life.  I can see that we are never done “growing up” and I look forward to all of the lessons we will share in the future.

STOP!!!! Everyone just stop running, and pushing, and competing and racing!  

Where the hell are you going??

 Just stop for a few minutes.  It’s OK.  If other people keep running by you don’t worry.  They don’t know where they are going and even if they did, it doesn't matter to you.

What matters is where you are right now and who is with you. 

Really. 

Just look around…your children are beautiful and they want you to know them.  Your parents are aging and right now is the only time you have to spend with them.  

Look up.  The sun is warm on your face.  

Look around.  You have a place to live, food to eat and people who love you.  

You don’t need to run anywhere.  You need to live your life right here, right now so the world can experience who you really are not who you think you are suppose to be.  You need to teach your children how to know and trust themselves…teach them to stop living for some goal in the future.  It’s not a healthy way to live.  

Instead, teach them to play, experiment, to be in awe of this amazing world.  Give them time to know themselves, to discover their interests and passions and then support them any way you can, to learn and do that thing that they think and dream about all the time.  

Just stop and give yourself permission to be….just be.  

You may find that where you actually want to go does not require such a hectic, stressful lifestyle.  

You may find peace.

I can't wait for the film "class Dismissed" to be released!!  Here is a link to the trailer.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vL0kZ69LwNw

Don't get it confused with a documentary with the same title, about the history of the working class, that was released in 2006. (Although, it sounds like an interesting film as well)

I'm hoping it will help people think about education as something that happens naturally and not something that can only happen inside a school.  It would be wonderful if more people could embrace the truth that we don't need to fill kids heads up with facts because they have the answers at their finger tips.  What they need to learn is the confidence, creativity and skills to solve real problems.  I want children to learn to know the world and know themselves.  Then they can figure out what they have to offer - matching passion with need = a fulfilling life and would make the world a better place.

I'll let you know when the film is released.