The Emergence of Talent

When does a child reveal their talent to you? Do you wake up one day and see it blooming like a spring flower in the morning? Or does it creep up on you like old age a little at a time.

Yesterday, my oldest was in the back yard at our duplex in Minneapolis, holding an apple up and playing with our first dog Lucky. Fast forward seven years, four moves, a new dog and the addition of two more children; I find myself sitting drinking coffee in Stagenorth waiting for my children to try out for their first community theater production of Annie.



The music flowed before our children came into our lives. As a couple we played music while they were in the womb, and continued paying while they grew up around us. Mini guitars were given as gifts; drama and story telling became routine. Our children put on their own production of the Hobbit and continued to re-enact the great dramas of our time often putting song and dance moves into the mix without any adult involvement. My wife and I would sit back and wonder where all this imagination and energy came from.

The homeschool life allows us to let the natural emergence of talent to appear, often in unexpected places.

So today I sit while Finn and Charlotte try out for Annie. I don't know what the outcome will be, it may be the beginning many nights of hanging out in theaters or it may just be one of the many things my children try as they make their way towards who they will become. As they chart their own course, my wife and I become passengers on their adventures.





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Road Trip Confessions

Shhhhh.... Don't tell... We broke the law. Just an itty bitty little law. You know, the one that says you are not supposed to bring wood from one place to another? Well, we brought a stick home with us. All the way From New York, into Canada, then back to the states.

Now, if you have been following our family's road trip, you can go back to the blog "Two Moose, A Ninja and The Destruction of the Death Star" to see this stick in action. It was found by Finn on our hike in the Adirondacks. He literally found like five sticks and he carried them all for the last mile of the hike. back in camp, I made him choose the one he like the best. Once he made his choice, well, he made it clear he did not want to part with it.

Oh, we told him about "The Stick Law". We kept reminding him that we would have to part with it at the next camp ground. "Play with that stick, cause it's your last day with it". The kids would use the stick at each campsite as a form of entertainment, to pass the time. Finn and Charlotte got pretty good at tossing it back and forth to each other. They would get farther and farther apart while tossing the stick. Then they started making up routines with the stick, mostly spinning it around and twirling it around their body. Where they learned this or even got the idea is beyond me. I'm thinking maybe "Mulan", "Kung Fu Panda" or "Zena: The Warrior Princess".
Not sure. They sure provided us with excellent evening entertainment though.

So, we were about to leave our site in Mississiagi, (Canada) and we had to make a decision. Should we take the stick or not? We told Finn he couldn't take the stick home. AND HE WAS OK WITH IT! "It's just a stick you guys!" Jamie and I looked at each other in amazement and disbelief. OK, well, let's get a picture of Finn and his stick.





Just look at how cute he is!!! Jamie said, "I think I'm gonna miss that stick more than he is". "Me too! We can get it home and varnish it so it doesn't spread 'stick germs'".