There is a time to observe, and there is a time to jump...

I wrote this post to the glorious Shine with Unschooling community this morning, and in honor of my Jake's 20th birthday (and inspired by my friend, Poppy Jen's, blog sharings...), I wanted to post it here with photos.


Yes. My boy is TWENTY. Isn't that just awesome?? This was my facebook status on September 28, 2010:

A child arrived just the other day, he came to the world in the usual way...but Look! This story is different! From the moment the child's Mom first looked into his eyes, she knew he was here to teach *her*. And so she gave him the sacred space & Trust to do so. Happy Birthday, my Jakey ~ you are a zillion adjectives that describe Goodness... You Are Necessary & Infinitely Valuable to Me and to this Universe.

I have always talked about how Sam came into our lives and showed us how to lighten up and laugh more. Dave, Jake and I had always been so serious before Sam had arrived.

And recently, Jake was having a difficult time remembering himSelf accurately, because of my description. He asked for more clarity: "Was I ALWAYS really serious??"

I apologized for boxing his entire BE-ing into one word...one that wasn't entirely accurate (especially if *he* didn't remember it that way!).

I told him that it wasn't that he was serious...it was just that he preferred to have conversations with adults over being silly with other kids. The weight of the world weighed heavily on his shoulders, and that's what I did my best to remove from him...he had enough weight without the world adding even *more* onto it. That's why before I ever even heard of radical unschooling, the focus of our lives were on SHEER JOY. I also told him that's why he was so loved by so many adults ~ because of his ability and desire to converse with them...

AND we remembered young Jake in the Disney Store. Ohmygoodness...those employees in there just LOVED Jake because he would converse with them about his current Disney passions (much like he would talk about his favorite books and authors with every library employee)!!

I told Jake that there was always such JOY and FUN in our lives (in fact, this is why Dave and I almost *forgot* that we wanted to have TWO children!!...because our lives were so immersed in all that Jake was ~the work he was showing us we had to do AND the JOY he was bringing to our lives!). It's just that we had no idea about *silliness*, really!! ;)



When we were recently at Jake's childhood Disney store again, he was walking around, smiling, remembering (and smelling ~ smelling is always a part of our *remembering*!!) ...and then he got to the back of the store where they have that big pile of stuffed animals. I told him that he was always disgusted with the little kids who JUMPED into that pile of toys...he knew it wasn't what you were *supposed* to do (he was always a rule-follower...this boy who had no rules at home because he was trusted and encouraged to follow his own inner guidance system...) and he would often tell the kids that.

Standing there, looking at the pile of stuffed animals at age 19, Jake confessed, joyfully, that he had a deep desire to throw himself right into the middle of all of those stuffed animals!!

My heart just BEAMED with JOY and LOVE.



I am ALWAYS always grateful for this glorious life...for always listening to, following, honoring and celebrating Jake and Sam (and giving them the sacred space they needed in order to SHINE), but there are some moments when that gratitude is greatly magnified. And standing in the Disney Store with my (then) 19-year-old telling me of his desire to jump into the stuffed animal pile was one of those times.


Happy Happy Birthday, my Jake.
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Dream Beach/25th Anniversary Vacation ~ Tybee Island

Good Morning!!




My honey and I have been wanting a beach vacation for SO long. We chose to give this to ourSelves as a gift for our 25th anniversary (may 25, 2010)...and we chose to bring our children, our dogs, and Sam's sweetie, Ashlan, with us. It was Sheer Sheer Heaven.

We didn't take any photos our first day here (we arrived Saturday at about 2 p.m.)...I really just wanted to BE on the beach...with my honey and my boys...in celebration of Life and Love and SUNSHINE! It was so exciting to finally *Be* here...and it was as beautiful (more!) as we had imagined.

Sunrise on Sunday...our first morning here...absolutely gorgeous...and this is what we saw from our deck...



Meanwhile...inside...







Monty under the glass table...





And back to that sunrise...looking out our deck to the right...



...looking off of our deck to the left...














This is the gate that we walked through from the condo to get to the beach... After we arrived (after a VERY long drive), we unpacked just a little, and then Dave and I could not WAIT to go for our first beach walk. We were at this gate, looked at each other, held hands and asked, "READY??" And we WERE!!











It was Sunday morning and we saw these people throwing things into the ocean. We were too far away to see what it was...but as we moved closer, we saw that it was fruit baskets...and they threw the WHOLE THING in...including the baskets!!...










If you would like a challenging lesson in humility, rent this condo. It is covered in MIRRORS. Yes. Live life in bathing suits and be surrounded by mirrors for a week. Mm-hmm...lesson in humility...




We had read about the *Breakfast Club* and how great it was. The owner was a chef for JFK Jr.'s wedding. We did not believe a breakfast could be THAT good. We read about the lines that form outside because of its popularity. Dave and I were ready to go and avoid the lines very early, but by the time the CHILDREN got up and around and showered, it was much later...and yes...we had to wait in line.

As we were waiting, a man came out and said that it was the best breakfast of his life. Hmm...we shall see...





Yes...Sam agrees. Best breakfast of his life...


We walked a little around downtown and out on the pier...







This is Fannie's On The Beach...





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Yes!! We rented bikes for the week and Jake and I are OFF!! The following are photos taken of sweet Tybee Island while riding my bicycle (I'm talented like that...I can ride with NO hands, too!!...and Dad ~ I didn't crash into ONE trash can!! :)!...





Mardi Gras necklaces are still hanging on trees everywhere...




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Good morning Sunrise.
















My honey took about a dozen of these...yes ~ me walking on the beach, looking down (as always) for seashells! I deleted all but this one... :)














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Hey, kids!! We're goin' to SAVANNAH!!!...




We were going to walk the dogs around Savannah, but Monty wouldn't budge. So the doggies waited in the car while we strolled...



And here, my friends, is the lovely Savannah...






River Street...

River Street...






Jake's photo of the *back* of this shot is oh so beautiful...











We read and thoroughly LOVED Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil before our trip to Savannah and Tybee Island (listened to it on audio, actually...even on the trip down and back...). If you've only seen the movie, you really know *nothing* of the real book. The book is not just the *Jim Williams Story*...the book is Pure Savannah and the city's amazing and unique and gloriously quirky characters.

We felt like we met one of those wonderful Savannah characters... As we were walking back to River Street along Bull Street (toward Johnson Square), this chihuahua (named Tequila) was walking by its owner without a leash, just KNOWING exactly what it was doing...where it was going. We were admiring her, and her owner said, "She owns this street." As we all walked together, we passed by a beauty salon, and in the door was a little puffy bichon frise, dressed in pink with a pink bow in her hair and sitting in a pink bed. Tequila's owner went and knocked on the window and told Tequila that her friend was there. Tequila ran to the dog excitedly, and they both barked greetings to each other, and then Tequila was on her way again.

I'm thankful Tequila agreed to allow me to take her photo...















Back to Tybee Island...thank Goodness. Oh, man...we miss that beach...even just gone for a few hours...



Shrimp boats...


Deliciousness from Savannah Candy Kitchen...







Another gorgeous sunrise...








TREASURE!!...




The view out our front door...the non-beach side is STILL just gorgeous...




We packed up our beach bags and headed to the south beach...it's a bit warmer there...more populated, too. It felt good to be a part of the Spring Break crowd for a little while...



We bought Ashlan a kite...


And they could NOT get the darn thing to FLY!!





So we went and bought a bocce ball set...and a couple daquiris in *to go* (traveler) cups from *Tybee Time*...






Back to the condo and our middle beach...JAKE DID IT!! He rocks. He went on a bike ride and bought Ashlan a new kite...and then he got it to FLY!! It's quite beautiful...






Check out the FULL rainbow that we were directly in the middle of. A-maz-ing!!!!!




We were excited to go to Charly's for dinner...fine dining on Tybee...






Lovin' my lamb lollipops. Charly is awesome.





Oh, we were SO excited! We decided after dinner at Charley's to go get a Starbucks coffee on Johnny Mercer Drive.

After that, we thought we should go a little farther and solve the mystery of a sign we had been seeing on top of a gas station, advertising *Chewy Ice*. We had no idea what it was. But we each spoke our own vision of what we thought it might be. (This got to be quite funny, because even *after* we solved the mystery, we kept voicing our vision of what we thought it was...)

Here we are...ready to go in and find out what this Chewy Ice is...



Are you ready??? Yup. This is it. Small ice cubes. That's it. That's Chewy Ice.





OH, the DISAPPOINTMENT!!!...



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Dave and I were quite envious of our neighbor's seashell collection. They had whole sand dollars and large conch's and other treasures that were eluding us. We thought we needed to get out early, before anyone else. So one morning we woke up at THREE A.M. and went out with a flashlight. Nothing. Still nothing.

So we came back in and I got on the computer and googled *How to find sand dollars*. OH SO HELPFUL!!! It talked about high tide and low tide, and so I went and found some tide charts for Tybee Island. And then I googled *How to read tide charts* and we learned and went, "Ah-HA!!" a lot, and got excited for our next day's collecting adventures.

And sure enough...we found some! Oh, man, that feels GOOD when you find a whole sand dollar!! You just wanna do a touch-down dance!!


...

And so this morning, Dave and I went out for *one* more sand dollar. SUCCESS!! The ocean chose to give us this glorious gift. Dave and I saw it at the same time and yelled, "AHHH!!!" We high-fived and did a touch-down dance.

Now when we feel very happy about something..ANYTHING...we say it feels as good as it feels to find a sand dollar on the beach!!

I also told Dave that I wanted to find ONE good conch shell. And my honey found it for me. It's beautiful...









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Mimosas on the deck for breakfast...





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OK...this is hysterical. I asked my family to gather for a shot, with me holding the camera up. They said it couldn't be done. They said we all wouldn't fit. Then they said, "Let's get the dogs in, too!" This is our attempt at doing just that...Laughing SO hard that we look like we're in pain!! (Poor Monty never quite made it in the shot entirely!!...) ...









Jake and I hopped on the bikes again for another photo session of The Colors of Tybee Island...






















Returning from our bike ride, rounding the corner to our condo...looky who we saw!!...



Our Tybee Island home...108B...



Oh, the incredible aroma of this amazing contraband!!...




We love this yellow house that was next to us...


The Shops at Tybee Oaks...


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Doncha love my honey's vacation facial hair?? Gorgeous.


The beach walk to Marlin Monroe's for lunch...



The Tybee Island water tower marked where our condo was for us...helpful when we were 3 miles down the beach at the pier, walking back...





THE best bloody mary EVAH. Old Bay Seasoning with some hot pepper around the rim...two huge olives surrounding an okra on a pick inside of it... Yumminess.




Outdoor, beach/ocean-view seating at Marlin Monroe's...




Inside Marlin Monroe's...





CHEESEY-BUN!!!!!!...from the little girlie menu... (Man, it is VERY difficult to find decent ~ let alone GOOD ~ vegetarian options in the south!) ...


THE best fish tacos...



The little girlie got a fruit roll-up for dessert with her cheesy-bun...



Two bloody mary's in traveler cups, please...




The short beach walk back to our condo...and the brother-race to the swing-set...


Sam stomping away in "anger"...can you hear his stomp, Stomp, STOMPS???!...







I can't believe I captured Sam's flip-flops in a mid-air drop to the sand...







Sam and Ashlan heading to south beach on the bikes...






South Beach end of Tybee...really really cute and kitschy...but really nothing good is for sale here at all. Nothing. Save your money.




And don't believe anyone in Tybee when they say they have *gourmet* coffees. They Do Not. Drive to the Starbucks on Johnny Mercer Blvd...



I have dreamt of this moment for a long long LONG time...


Yes. It Is Good.

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Everyone's teeth are stuck together from the candy we just bought...




Phantom Surfer Dude...





Since we're ALWAYS welcome at Tybee Island, I think we should go back...like now... Ok...maybe tomorrow then...






So...walking back on the beach, I was saying to Dave how I love seeing happy couples and families on the beach together, sometimes with "traveler" beverages in their hands...just so happy to be on the beach, by the ocean, looking for seashells and talking talking talking...with each other... Dave said, "Yeah. So, do you want to get a traveler from Marlin's?"
Hellz, yeah. One pina colada to go, please...



And this is Jake and Sam spotting Dave and I at Marlin's from across the beach and saying, "Ohmygod! They got ANOTHER drink to go??!!" ;)







Beautiful people...inside and out... "Prom" photo #1...






Happy happy, Joy joy... Good decision to cancel our Charley's reservations and head again ~ via a walk on the beach ~ to Marlin Monroe's...






"Prom" photo #2. I love them...




Marlin Monroe's has paper tablecloths and a basket of crayons for your drawing pleasure...






FINALLY! We were at Marlin Monroe's after five, so we got to experience their *Flower Pot Bread*. Yummmmmmmy. And weird looking, too...





Mm-hmm...this is me STILL workin' on my baja-marinated grilled seafood platter, long after everyone else finished their meals. Oysters, huge prawns, two kinds of crab, and sheer deliciousness...








The view as we left our condo early Saturday morning...beauty and Joy and sadness all swirling around us...


Good-bye Tybee. Oh how we love you.

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