It has been awhile since I have checked in on where my children are in this journey......this journey belongs to them as much as it does me......maybe even more so, because it will color many more years of their lives than it will mine......Today I will start with sharing about Mads.....she has come such a long way in the time since her dad left.....she was heartbroken in those early days and months, and it broke my heart over and over to watch her suffer......but as I began to find my way, so did she.......and then she started at Acton for school in the fall......a decision we had made and had discussed before our world imploded.....I knew from the moment I read about Acton that it was for her.....at Acton she is on a hero's journey.....on a quest to find what her gifts are and share them with the world......she is not only given opportunities to be academically successful, but also given tools to be a better person and care about others being better people too.......being mindful of looking for those things in others......participating in "character callouts" often.......they have a tribe that follow rules of engagement, and if somebody is not following the rules of engagement they address it......they are encouraged to be fiercely independent, thinking for themselves and charting their path.......encouraged to be intrinsically motivated also......the badges Madeline has received have been orchestrated by her own drive.....she decides when she is going to go after a badge.....writes it down as a goal, then figures out how to achieve it......nobody tells her when to do math or reading, she chooses the materials she works with during that time....and so far has chosen balance with both beautifully:) She works with Montessori materials that are of high interest and quality......she engages in socratic discussion daily......group work daily.......and lots of time spent outdoors......she is also responsible for maintaining the studio, and has a job she is required to do daily......so yesterday was her exhibition, they have them every couple of months......and their quest was to plan and build a business in a group and run it at exhibition.......and before we went outside under the pavilion to experience them....she had to answer some questions with her group about what the process was like for them.....and as I stood there, listening to her confidently speak on behalf of her group........no nerves......just such comfort in what she was saying, comfort in her own skin, and comfort in her school environment, it made me so happy...... she has always been quieter, an observer, and shy in public sorts of situations.....and after her dad left it got worse.....she retreated further inside of herself.....and it worried me for her......but yesterday that was gone....and it made me so so grateful......she is finding her way, and her place, and her gifts in this world......and feeling confident to go after them......and sometimes I feel she and I are walking parallel journeys......mine starting later than hers:-) and I feel so much better that she is better......she has reached some acceptance with her life as it is....she understands that it is what it is......that her relationship with her dad is different now.....that he loves her a great deal but it can't be in the same ways it once was.....and she understands what to expect and what she cannot......and enjoys the time she has with him and enjoys her life in the space between........I couldn't ask for anymore........I hope as time marches on she continues to heal and grow in the ways that she has begun to.......and finds a way to make peace with her heartbreak like I have.......and continue to thrive......Lord hear my prayer......
jperuso
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