Long Live the Live & Learn!

We've been back almost a week now since our vacation. The Live & Learn Unschooling conference was, of course, our biggest highlight.

It is impossible to overstate the difference in our lives attending the conferences has created. The first one was August, 2004, in Peabody, MA. We were only just beginning to homeschool, but were curious about this philosophy/style called Unschooling. By the end of the weekend, after hearing & seeing first hand so much of what the unschooling lifestyle is really about, we were committed to it ourselves. The following year, 2005, brought us to St. Louis, MO. We enjoyed the opportunity to travel to new areas as much as we enjoyed attending the conference. We made new friends (Ren & I connected in the hotel hallway mere hours before we had to leave!) People whose writings I had read on the yahoo lists were now people I knew in real life - it was great being able to now read "hearing" their voices & "seeing" their faces.

Knowing the the 2006 conference was going to be in Albuquerque, NM, led us to make a huge change in our lives. We bought a motorhome. And the kids & I planned out a two month trip across the country. Phil was able to negotiate a solid 3-week vacation so that he could be with us as much as possible in the southwest - a most amazing part of our country. If you have ever thought about driving across the country, DO IT! It will change your perspective & enhance your appreciation of so many things.

During this conference we also felt part of the group in a more significant way than before. We met up with people in their homes - you know, outside of the actual conference! We had moved from meeting people to knowing people. To developing friendships & finding connections outside of just being "unschoolers, too". It profoundly affected my children - suddenly they had friends from all over the country, friends they were anxious to see again soon. And we did!

September of 2007: Hello, North Carolina! I never saw my children. They were livin' & learnin' all over the place with their friends. Our connected vacation plans included visits with friends from L&L. At this point, attending the conference was like attending a family reunion.

2008. The last Live & Learn.

I sang these words, from Wicked, Thursday night:

I've heard it said,
that people come into our lives
for a reason,
bringing something we must learn.
And we are led
to those who help us most to grow -
if we let them,
and we help them in return
...
It well may be
that we will never meet again
in this lifetime,
so let me say before we part:
So much of me
is made of what I learned from you,
you'll be with me
like a handprint on my heart.

And now whatever way our stories end,
I know you have rewritten mine
by being my friend
...
Who can say if I've been changed for the better?
But because I knew you...I have been changed
For Good.