Thank you, Sandra, and to Marty, Kirby and Holly, for continuing to share about their lives as they've grown up, and now become parents themselves in two cases! It has been a huge help to my own deschooling and confidence to read what adventures they've been getting up to over the years.

As my own teen now transitions into the workplace, I'm also seeing how all those childhood hobbies and passions translate into work skills, and how a childhood of choices means he's still continuing to be happy to choose to set his alarm, and do things that challenge him, rather than being resentful when asked to do new jobs and tasks... and I am so grateful for the path you helped us choose these past 12 years ??

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From: [email protected] <[email protected]> on behalf of Sandra Dodd <aelflaed@...>
Sent: 22 July 2021 15:09
To: [email protected] <[email protected]>
Subject: [AlwaysLearning] Learning from hobbies; moving to jobs

?

I came across a good discussion elsewhere, and had the urge to share this (with an update below).? When I wrote it, my oldest, Kirby, was 21.

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Kirby learned to read ALL maps from the map of the first Mario Brothers game.

Kirby learned to read ALL indexes from the index to Nintendo Power Magazine, which he bought with his own money before he could even read fluently, and would ask me to help him look things up. Understanding 15:32 in a magazine index enables one to look things up in the Bible or Shakespeare or anywhere.

Fifteen years later / today (11/16/2007):
Kirby called me a couple of hours ago, while he was walking to work
at his video-game-company job in Austin. He's very happy where he
is, and he had uploaded some photos for an article I'm working on.
He told me he loved me.

it's not an "end result," but it's a life-point filled with data.

Sandra

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On the 29th of this month, Kirby turns 35.? He moved back to Albuquerque to relieve his wife-to-be and her young daughter of awkward and rough connections/situations.? They have two more daughters, now, and live within half a mile of me.? Kirby works for a local company that provides computer support for businesses without their own tech guys.?

For a while, he was contracted out for a while to a company that arranged and provided services for homeless and indigent people, and one of the employees there was Carol Rice, one of my first La Leche League Leaders, and someone who knew Kirby from his infancy through his mid teens.? She didn't recognize his face, nor he hers.? Years had passed. But when she heard his name, and they both realized the situation, I heard about it from both of them within the next day or two. :-)? That was very sweet.

I'm glad I let his play games, and that we bought him players' guides and Nintendo Power magazines (which are still here, in magazine boxes, in order, with the two indexes he bought with his own money).? Things were different then. :-)

What is not different, though, is the way people learn, and the value of trusting that learning happens even when it looks like "just playing," and that parents can't know what connections, opportunities, connections and such will come about in the future.

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Best wishes to all who see this; Learn Nothing Day is impending.? July 24.? Try to avoid and prevent learning for as long as you can, just that one day.? If you succeed, please come and tell us how you did it!

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Sandra