Dear Family,

“The thing is, it's very dangerous to have a fixed idea. A person with a fixed idea will always find some way of convincing himself in the end that he is right.”

--Atle Selberg, winner of the 1950 Fields Medal in Mathematics.

----

All in all, I'm not going to bore you with many details of this past week. Suffice to say that whether or not Ben was reacting negatively to a food challenge (or maybe just doing some random detoxification, or perhaps feeling the effects of Mercury in Retrograde), his behavior regression was one I would prefer never to experience again.

Dear Family,

Jeff and I watched “Sleepless in Seattle” a couple nights ago. There was good acting and lots of great dialogue, and even though I know the world does not need any more movie reviews, I am somehow compelled to share mine anyway:

SPOILER ALERT

1. Man's wife dies (very sad), and he and his young son (a nauseatingly sweet and well-adjusted young man) move to Seattle. Two years later, Son wants Dad to get remarried, and calls a radio show to ask the psychologist/host for advice (subsequently landing Dad with some airtime.)

Dear Family and Friends,

I'm not a completely hopeless romantic, but I totally cried my eyes out during our neighbors' wedding last weekend. As I told Ben and Jem, it was one of the funnest they are ever likely to attend...

It was a gorgeous Saturday evening, and the music was incredible, and the ceremony was heart-breakingly sweet, and the brides and grooms (did I mention it was a double-wedding?) made respective promises that were individual and eyes-wide-open and funny and tender and real, and a huge tent was illuminated so the festivities could continue late into the night.

Dear Family,

I don't think that Jem's and my bike adventure will make it into “Bicycling” magazine. I (this has at least something to do with having with my breastfeeding toddler in tow) got passed by every single other cyclist we met on road, without exception, and we didn't go very far. Also, our journey contained very little Risk (and additionally, “Bicycling” doesn't usually go for boobs on the cover).

By the time he's done being two years old, he's not going to fit under my jacket in the baby carrier anymore. I hope at that point Jem will also stop waking up well before the sun, but I'm not putting any money on it. And meanwhile, we have our best talks in the morning, when I've dragged myself out of bed and out the door, and he's snuggled into my chest. He likes when the cars go by ("More come cars!"), when he sees a school bus (a "butt"), and he points every time he sees a mailbox ("my-bock").

(Originally published in the March-April issue of "Life Learning" magazine http://www.lifelearningmagazine.com/)

We heard the train just after our car began the uphill ascent, away from the train tracks. Ben struggled to hold back real tears, while I struggled not to feel guilty for not turning back into rush hour traffic to see the train. "Do you think," Ben said, between sniffles, "we'll EVER see another train?" Yes, I assured him, I really thought we would.

(Originally posted to the Unschooling Basics Yahoo Group.)

I grew up in a household with no TV (until my brother bought his own, for video-watching, when he was a teenager), few processed foods purchased with family money, and no computer games (there weren't any!). BUT, my parents placed no restrictions on my or my four younger siblings personal spending money, or on foods we ate outside the home, and we all talked--a lot--about health and personal desires and "voting with our dollars."

Dear Family,

Ben is VERY interested in law and order. Police officers--what do they do? Why do they drive faster than everybody else, even if their lights and sirens aren't on? Do they get arrested or get tickets? Why “not usually”? What happens if a person steals something? Have WE ever had anything stolen? What happens in a courthouse? And tickets – what do they look like when you get one?

by Sarabeth Matilsky

I had a major big-girl-crush on Jen. She talked about drugs and sex with me like I was an adult, and wore clothes only if they were comfortable. She came up with quick retorts when strangers commented on how thin she was. I knew her kidneys didn't work right. Once she told me, like it was no big deal, “The doctors said I wouldn't live past twenty-one. They don't know anything!” People thought Jen and I were sisters all the time—same dark eyes, dark hair, dark skin, and she _was_ tiny. Sometimes we'd pretend right along with them. Jen loved my family, especially my dad. (Hers left when she was four, and now she said she wanted a new one.)