The Best Thing? As in ONE Best Thing??

I'm having a hard time coming up with the single Best Thing about being an unschooling family. For the longest time, The Best Thing was when I was reading to all 3 kids in my bed. Being able to touch all three at one time, was simply The Best Thing.  But over time, new Best Things cropped up. Old Best Things improved. And sometimes, even when I thought there'd be no way to top something - something came around the corner and DID top it.

So I think I'll start with a list, and then if I want to expand on them, I'll have some future topics! ha!

Our "Best Things" List

                          ... in no particular order

• Reading in bed with all 3 kids (have to start with that one)
• The explosion of voices when the kids come through the door all wanting to tell me what a fabulous experience they just came from
• Watching the courage on my child's face as they tackle auditions, travel, walking into a room of strangers
• Listening to their unwavering loyalty as they defend their sibling from some injustice
• Late night conversations when it's so clear how much trust we have
• Spending all day with other homeschoolers/unschoolers and then all going out to eat together because we just didn't want the day to end
• Being open-minded enough to step out of society's expectations and doing what's best for our children
• Connecting the dots on how supporting strengths lead to lifelong passions
• Listening to the laughter upstairs as they share stories with their friends
• Driving in the car, radio blasting Queen or Jimmy Buffet, and all of us singing along at the top of our lungs
• Sitting in the sunroom with guitars, piano and singing along to Joni Mitchell's Big Yellow Taxi (or anything from our Rise Up Singing book!)

While this might be the Short List of all the Pattersons' Best Things, they all came about because of the parenting choices we made and our decision to be Unschoolers.  For us, it's all about Relationships. And these relationships can bring so much joy because of the time we spent nurturing and trusting.

As the "kids" move into adulthood, I'm excited by what new heights our Best Things will reach!

Don't it always seem to go, that you don't know what you got till it's gone...