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Unleashing Joy at Norfolk's Dog Festival: A Family's Journey into the World of Canine Love | Day 239 of my 2023 Journal

Cecilie Conrad·Aug 27, 2023

Dog festival in Norfolk.

Back in January in Villa Nina, when we planned our year out for the first time ever, Silke found a dog festival just after and close to the home education festival. And we signed up for it.

Ever since Silke was a little girl, she has been all about dogs. I have often been surprised by how many things there are to think and say about dogs. It has been more than ten years of a child all focused on dogs (almost only that), and yet today, I can still be surprised by the things she can think, say, observe, and investigate around the four-legged best friends.

Really. The details. The nuances. The respect. She is amazing with all dogs, and her communication with them flows like smooth waters: Clear, tingling, light, beautiful. She said it is so much easier, as the words don’t interfere with what there is to “say.” The things she can see! And the nuances to which she can think about how to live with dogs, how to handle their lives so they are happy and healthy and can live with humans - it is just overwhelming.

So of course we had to go to a dog festival.

And, of course, it was a blast. We had fun joining competitions and looking at all the different dogs, winning 3rd place in one of them, and being angry at stupid judges at another (a judge did not understand we speak another language, and therefore did not get a command was a command as she herself did not understand the word - how STUPID can you be?!)

We enjoyed looking at products for dogs for two days straight and finally finding good harnesses for the delicate fur of our poodle and the alternative body shape of our cross-breed. Most of all, we loved looking at all the dogs and all the people obsessing over their dogs.

It was so much fun!

And we are totally coming next year to enjoy the dog festival again.

With love

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Cecilie Conrad

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Unschooling and Parent consulting, conversations, blogposts, and podcasts on family life and learning

Hi, I'm Cecilie Conrad. I'm a trained psychologist, mother of four, radical unschooler and full-time traveller. I have lived with unschooling for over a decade and help other families find their own path – whether it is about homeschooling, unschooling, or the bigger question of how you want to live as a family.

I offer guidance, conversations and talks. I call my work grandmothering – not coaching in the traditional sense, but presence, professional insight and concrete help navigating motherhood and finding your way home to your own values.

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