Oh how I have come to love this word: tribe! I always thought of myself as independent, kind of a loner, or a wild one in need of no one... I guess I'm an introvert, I don't mind being alone, I love silence and need it more than I admit. I don't mind "not fitting in", in fact, I secretly like it when I tell people that we live in our RV full time and are unschoolers. I always wait to see their "little twitch" reaction just before they can catch themselves and say the "polite" thing: "Oh, that is nice." I'm also the oldest of three kids and was homeschooled as a child which both kind of make me independent by default.
Don't ask me why or how, but somehow during our travels my "walls" came tumbling down and my need for community or at least my desire to take part of a tribe of like-minded people started to bloom. We connected with people who had visited places we we're heading to on Instagram and created a small community of people we would reach out to to guide us along our big adventure. We connected with people who we're going through the downsizing process we had undertaken a few months back and cheered along their progress as they we're getting closer to their dream of RV living full time! We connected with people at restaurants, grocery stores, hotels, parks, etc. I even remember having coffee and muffins one day in a quaint little coffee shop alone with the kiddos and ending up sitting on the terrace with total strangers all at the same table! With our willingness to open ourselves up to other people and experiences, we ended up meeting the most awesome family and making some very precious friends! My heart broke when we had to say goodbye but at the same time it left me wanting to add this kind of connection to our daily lives back home.
I had found this beautiful community of homeschooling mamas called Wild and Free while browsing online even before we homeschooled... I waited a whole year before finally subscribing to their monthly bundles of articles for the homeschooling mama's heart. Their beautiful content always fills my heart and soul and resonates so much with our life style and values. I now find myself impatiently waiting for the first of the month to arrive so I can download the whole monthly content and browse through the articles with a hot cup of coffee in hand.
The kids also participate in their affiliate community for kids called Wild Explorers Club. They get a new assignment (a video featuring Ranger Kyle, which the kids think is the coolest) every week and once the assignments are completed they get badges that we add to their hiking backpacks. Zoey-Leigh was featured in the June hashtag section of the magazine, and we made the Adventure Story of last month's issue! The kids were so proud!
I still can't believe how many times the kids and I talked about a project we wanted to tackle, a recipe we wanted to try or a place we wanted to visit just to find them laid out before us in our monthly bundles/magazines. We wanted to use as much of the wild flowers and plants that are surrounding us in our new setting in the woods this summer. Just like that, last month's issue had a recipe of sugar cookies decorated with wild flowers, and this month's issue has a dandelion pesto recipe which we will be trying tonight with pasta and wild trout!
The kids had found an abandoned bird's nest and were fascinated by it's beauty. We found a beautiful nest craft in our magazine and thought that it made the perfect mother's day present for their grandmas.
Their last assignment was to enrol in a workshop or find a way to learn a new skill. We are currently busy land clearing so we can settle nicely on our acreage for the summer. The kids have been seeing this as the perfect opportunity to master this "new skill" and have been a huge help in gathering wood and making piles out of branches. I'm just amazed at the perfect timing of everything this community has provided us with (or maybe this is just what living intentionally is; seeing connection within every aspects of our lives...)
Sharing how much I love this community with a few same minded homeschooling Mamas has brought us together in a relaxed, non-formal kind of way. We are now meeting a few times a month just to spend time together in nature, letting our kids explore and be wild and free. We are reading great books together and sharing beautiful resources! I feel like I am slowly growing my tribe, a group of people that I can call on and know that whether I am in a great mood or in need of someone to share my struggles with, I won't be judged but welcomed and understood! These are my fellow mamas, this is my tribe!
Maybe you are a proud "I can do it myself" kind of person... I used to be that way... I am slowly learning that letting go of this "I've got everything under control" persona can be so freeing and bring so much goodness and lightness to our lives. I want my kids to know that it is all right to need and ask for help. It is more than ok to want to surround yourself with people who can see you for who you really are and accept you just as you are! Community is a blessing, not a sign that you are weak... True belonging among your tribe is where you experience the best of life! I encourage you to add a little vulnerability to your relationships and see where it can lead you! Hopefully you'll come to love this word as much as I do... TRIBE!!!!