I’m tired, but more to the point I’m sad. I have a grey cloud over my head vis-a-vis my troubles and my temperament is such I get entangled in this ish most nights. I’ve tried talking it out, I’ve tried praying on it, I’ve tried meditating, I’ve tried not thinking. But I’m a mess over it all the same.
But now, I sit on my daughter’s bed and try to be with her for a bit. She’s playing on her brother’s 3DS but she puts it aside to cuddle me a while.
She suddenly remembers she has something for me and fetches it from her bag: her progress report, her grades. I flip through a frankly confusing printout and see all A’s and several classes recording over 100%. I am beginning to suspect she’s top of the class. Kind of incredible to me as kids have so much school- and homework these days and she is completely self-motivated about all of it.
“This looks really good. I’m impressed,” I tell her, flipping the packet back on the bed.
I’m quiet a moment and then I say, “You know by doing so well, you’re doing a favor for future homeschoolers and unschoolers out there.”
“You mean I prove that kids can go to school after unschooling and succeed?”
“Yeah,” I say. “You know a lot of people are afraid to unschool or homeschool their kids,” I tell her.
“That’s okay,” she says. And just when I’m thinking how compassionate and live-and-let-live she is she follows up with:
“They just have to get their shit together.”
She says it in the gentlest tone possible.
Ah… my little Beak.