Back

Home Education Families’ Festival | Day 228 of my 2023 Journal

Cecilie Conrad·Aug 16, 2023· 2 minutes

Each time we arrive at a large event, I turn myself backward inside and feel overwhelmed and paralyzed at the same time. It is funny, though. I am a very social person, and I have been excited about going to this big event - yet upon arrival, all I want is to hide in my van. Even when a good handful of my good friends are there, I still feel I just can not enter the situation.

This is how it is. Always is.

Yet this time, a bit more, I think. We had been talking too much about how overwhelmed we are and how tired we are, and we really are - but it never helps to focus on lack, negative aspects, exhaustion. So, I will admit I could have handled it better, been better prepared, and in a better place myself.

The HEFF festival is huge. And truly wonderful. Hundreds of families home-educating children of all ages, a few grandparents, and some young adults who were home-educated as children and teens gather yearly to spend a whole week together.

Every day, there is yoga on, discussions and panels, workshops of all sorts, sports and crafts, and dance, and you name it. Evenings of music, live bands, and DJs all from the community, and everyone dancing, laughing, and hanging out. 



I am writing this nr 228 as the whole thing is over, as I simply was too socially overwhelmed to engage in my writing while the festival was on, and now I have to catch up an entire week of my challenge. It is all right. The first day, my kids were happy and out there, and I was more silent and stayed with myself. Next year, I will make sure to arrive with more energy.

Love and light

Cecilie-Underskrift-300x133

Cecilie Conrad

Thank you for reading
I would love to hear from you. Listen to your thoughts and reflections - or praise :) It is often emotional to share our life like this, and we get very happy when we get your feedback. So feel free to share a comment below 😋 

 

It is very moist here. Rain comes in and out, grass full of dew in the morning, and the marsh vibrating with a baseline of water. We have been told i…Read more
During D-day, one of the parachuters had the bad luck of getting stuck hanging from the church tower. As the village at the time was taken over by th…Read more
To be challenged into a comfort zone is a very healthy thing. When we do things we would normally not do, we discover new elements of our vulnerabili…Read more
The way history is taught in schools, dripping from a curriculum, emerging from books written for “children” underestimating their intelligence will,…Read more
Just like the Hotel Beaumont was in many ways a re-play, we can never enter the same river twice, and watching Star Wars with Fjord was like visiting…Read more
It is so lovely to see a group of teenagers not afraid to show up in their nightgown, not afraid to be silly, not afraid to wear a pink unicorn jumps…Read more
Free play is at the center of Peter Gray's thinking, and I agree very much, especially with the “free” element. Play is this funny adult construction…Read more
On my birthday, honestly, a few days ago, as I was “falling behind,” I did not have to plan anything. The castle stay is already a party, and there i…Read more
What if math was voluntary? What if we recognize the fact that all math, including high school level, can be learned by a motivated person in 3 month…Read more