Facing Fears & Growing Up at Amicalola Falls

Over the past year, I've been working on my fitness levels, with the goal of reigniting my once-hobby of hiking and backpacking.  As part of this adventure, this Summer, I gathered the family and we went on a hike to the top of one of our local waterfalls, Amicalola Falls. Amicalola being only a 2-hour drive from our home, we made a spontaneous day trip of it, expecting to have a pleasant dive, a brief but enjoyable hike, and some chill-out time in the woods.  We got most of these things. We also got a bit more.

A Three-Poem Day at the Park

Benjamin Franklin said to "either write something worth reading or do something worth writing." So today, I took the J-Rex to a new park. As soon as we left the house and began driving through a world in bloom to reach our destination, I knew we, too, would bloom with the season today.

A Mother-Daughter Date to Remember

The other night, I had a terrible nightmare: I drempt the J-Rex ran out into traffic without looking and was run over by a car.  In my dream, I tried to catch her but couldn't because I was too slow and too far away. 

I woke up immediately and, blurry-eyed with shuffling feet, made my way to the J-Rex's room to wake her for hugs and kisses.  Before I could even explain, she looks at me and exclaims, "I had the best dream last night!"  A tear rolled down my cheek, I smiled, hugged her tighter, and asked her to tell me all about it.

Trying Hard, a Self-Reflection

I grew up lucky.  I was blessed to have several raw talents, including a mind that could handle academics with ease.  This kind of luck comes with a curse, though.  You see, I never had to try. 

School (well, most of it - I still have nightmares about times tables) was always a breeze. I was always an A-B student and graduated fifth in a class of over 600 without ever putting out more than the bare minimum of effort into my work.  Sure, I did work...I researched, read, learned on my own...but only when it was fun and only with the things that piqued my interest for only as long as my interest stayed piqued.  I never worked hard.

Super-Saturated Learning Solution: Unschool at the Nature Center

The first day with a chill in the morning air, a hint of my favorite season coming around the bend, we decided to scrap our day's lesson plans for a visit to our local nature center. 

We could  have spent the whole day there.  In a way, it felt like we did.