Today we had the good fortune to go outside after lunch and remain so the whole rest of the day.

I sat in the park with an assemblage of some of the smartest women I know, all of whom are homeschooling. We talked about orgasmic birth. We talked about Obama, almost orgasmically. We talked about teaching. We talked about my cow, of course. We talked about learning. Oh, and abortion. We talked about the necessary divide between parents and teenagers. We talked about emotional independence vs. emotional acuity and trust. We talked about various forms of intelligence. We wondered how to cultivate smarter humans. We settled on the one fact, teaching does not equal learning.

The children built a fire. Played football. Walked to the local health food store so they could feel cool and detached. Swang (which is how you can tell we're in the south.) Slid. Ran. Mingled. Splashed in the river. Filled their shoes with water to extinguish the fire. Squished in their socks. Tenderly allowed the littlest ones to knock the biggest ones down. Snacked. Cried. Laughed. Perched. Plucked grass. Impaled sticks. Soaked up sunshine. Wallowed in freedom. Wished they didn't have to leave.