I am so thankful that I didn’t have twins and at the same time I humongously admire the parenting skills of anyone who does have them.  Tonight Amber has her two friends over.  Twin sisters.  Not just any set of twin sisters.  We’ve got talking-a-mile-a-minute, seems-like-they’re-on-a-permanent-sugar-rush kind of twin sisters.  Cute.  Very cute.  And seemingly unstoppable.

I was fixing a dinner type of thingy for all of the kids when one of the twittering tykes came to announce that our dog, Mojo, had been trying to hump her leg.   I explained to her that even though it’s pretty gross, he was just trying to assert his dominance over her, like saying “I’m the boss of you.”  I let her know that they should shoo him out of the room and keep him out by closing the door, and that if he did it again somehow, feel free to conk him lightly on the head.  Or come get us or whatever, just don’t let him keep doing it.  By that time Doug had wandered into the kitchen to see if I needed any help (I didn’t, but it was very sweet), and the two of us were rewarded with a very long, very fast, very colorful story about so-and-so’s dogs humping some other dog and lots of barking and more humping.  Doug and I couldn’t help it.  Our eyes met and we burst into fits of laughter over pouring orange juice and doling out chicken nuggets.  And the humping story was still going strong.

So now the three are in bed, asleep I hope since it’s very late and time for my break.  But I can’t help but think that these  sweet little, um, tyrants, aren’t really sleeping, but recharging for tomorrow.  Like little batteries that just keep going, and going, and going….

So this was a sight to see first thing in the morning.  With my sleep fuzzy brain I was able to ask Aaron to grab the camera, and through what felt like grit-filled eyeballs, I do the best I can to focus.  Click.  Good morning.

I know a kid, I know a goober,
He likes to play the bagpipe maneuver
I like to play the drums
but he likes to play them silly

Now, first off I have to say I’m extremely proud of the second line where she finds just the right word to rhyme with “goober.” Next I admit to being ashamed that I tried to very subtly convince her to change the very last line with no success. I can’t say I’m surprised or disappointed with her decision to keep the poem the way it is, after all, aren’t I the mom that frowns upon interferring with a child’s creativity? Am I not the one who never asks “What is it?” when stained little hands stuff wrinkled wads of artwork in front of my face? (Instead I say “Oh, it’s beautiful! Why don’t you tell me about it?) Oh yes, but that last line is driving me bonkers. Ah well. It is a true masterpiece just the way it is.

Being a relaxed homeschooler leaning towards unschooling, I have not forced my kids to read anything in the last 4 years. With encouragement from others I have waited patiently (and sometimes impatiently) and crossed my fingers, trusting that my kids will surely read something on their own. Many children I know dislike reading because they are forced into it for one reason or another. If I personally am forced into reading something I do not want to read, I know I won’t enjoy it. So, it was/is more important to me that my children choose to do this on their own, discover how wonderful it is and develop a true love of reading.

I have to admit I did not feel too much overwhelming pressure to make my kids read, mostly due to the fact that they both listened to many audiobooks and their vocabulary and comprehension are way above grade level. Aaron particularly - he would be listening to 2 at a time - one in the car and one in his room before bed or while playing video games. His listening skills are tremendous.

I know that there are plenty of children who love to read despite being forced. They love to read what interests them and put up with the reading that doesn’t. This is the way it was for me, and I still love reading. Unfortunately, my husband Doug was a forced reader as a child and dislikes reading anything to this day. I’m definitely glad I did this. It may have seemed like an excruciatingly long wait but it was worth it.