Learning in Freedom: So tell me.....

Learning in Freedom

Welcome to Learning in Freedom, a blog all about the learning adventures (and mishaps) of the Allen family. My four children are unschooled, following their interests and passions every day and living the lives of their choosing. The purpose of this blog is to share our every day lives (and my not-so-humble opinons) with anyone interested in stopping by. We hope this will give a glimpse of how natural learning unfolds from day to day......

Monday, September 28, 2009

So tell me.....

I asked at Facebook today:

So...tell me what you did today that was just for YOU. Something that nourishes your spirit and makes you feel whole. Name at least one thing...more is ok too.

Then I listed weeding in the garden and taking pics of the critters therein. But that wasn't all and Danielle inspired me to really list everything.

Here are some of the critters though. This gorgeous spider is absolutely huge. I've noticed her before and let her be, but today I got the camera out. You'll see my gloved hand behind her in the second picture, to show you just how big she really is! I've identified her as a Golden Garden Spider. *She's very cool!

*I have no idea how to sex spiders...it's just a "she" because I said so. ;)

This little guy (fuzzy things should be boys right?) was busily munching leaves and happily ignored me. I'm glad it likes the leaves of a common weed, lambs quarters, which are a little on the tough side right now. I like eating them in the spring but it grows easily and everywhere.

Other things I did, just for me:

~sip tea and look at the birds, and the messy garden
~chat with my sister, who is getting ready to drive to Fairbanks to help care for a friend that just had a cancerous tumor removed from her kidney.
~chat on facebook with some of my favorite people
~lit a candle
~dreamed
~listened to some U2
~walked in the sunshine
~drove into town for some candy at the Lollipop shop (for the kids, but going into my downtown is for all of us)...then a stop at the new lavender shop. Standing there and smelling an entire shop full of lavender items was my meditation for the day! Amazing.
~weeding the kitchen garden is total meditation too....the smells of basils, lavender, lemon verbena, oregeno, summer savory and other heady scents makes it so pleasant.
~Prepping for the body art show...researching photos as points of reference for the art, working on fish fins and tail feathers and such

Those things were just for me....they don't include food prepared for all of us, hugs, watching my kids make things that make them happy etc...

I agree with Danielle, I am one of my favorite people! I can't imagine spending this much time with someone I didn't really like.:) Leave a comment about the many ways you nourish yourself each day....cuz you're worth it you know.

7 Comments:

Unknown said...: Love your spider pictures. It reminder me that I, too, took time to admire a spider today. Ours is a "he" and we named him Boris. He has been outside our back door for a few weeks. I love to watch him catch things, wrap them up, save them for later, ingest them, cut them out of his web when he is done with them, and then repair his web. So fascinating!; 11:33 PM
~Katherine said...: We just read Charlotte's Web a couple weeks ago. It's a big favorite for me and Karl was very quiet and very attentive, which he is not if the book isn't engaging enough. I read those for myself. ;D; 6:39 AM
Sarah said...: I made sauerkraut today. That was something that only I enjoy doing and only I enjoy eating.; 10:07 AM
Heather said...: Spiders are so cool to watch.

I enjoyed a morning coffee with my husband, who is enjoying his last days of vacation.
Made a list of all of the things we want to do and learn about over the next couple of weeks (quilting, painting, books to read, hikes we want to take, movies and documentaries we are excited to watch)
Talked to my Mom and Grandfather
Worked on the children's book I am writing and illustrating, in hopes of finding someone to publish my ideas.

I love the idea of listing what has nurtured me, it's so easy to forget how many little events in the course of the day do refill the cup. hugs from my boys are a big filler ;); 11:14 AM
Cap'n Franko said...: I plugged in my electric guitar and played for a while. That fed/soothed my spirit.; 2:33 PM
Heidi Snavley said...: Slept in:) Spent time with William and Danielle and said good-bye, sending them off on yet another adventure. Strummed on my guitar. Did yoga. Made a nourishing meal for my very dear friend that is going through radiation (it nourishes me too:). Spent time with my BFF working out. Drank a cup of Masala Chai. Ate healthy, nutritious meals. Now I'm going to go cuddle with my kids.; 1:13 AM
Colleen Paeff said...: This post addresses something I've been thinking about a lot lately. That is the fact that doing something for yourself doesn't have to mean something big--I only just realized that last week and I've been enjoying my days so much more now that I realize that anything that makes me happy is doing something for myself. And sometimes that includes sweeping, or preparing the house for guests, or cleaning out the garage--but before I had that realization I would have thought of those things as chores. Your post just validated exactly what I've been thinking for the past week! Thanks. :) (We met at Life is Good. I'm Lisa Creahan's friend...); 10:55 AM

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Monday, September 28, 2009

So tell me.....

So...tell me what you did today that was just for YOU. Something that nourishes your spirit and makes you feel whole. Name at least one thing...more is ok too.

7 Comments: