Insta-BFFs with halos: Sophie & Lola Leigh (aka Leonie. aka me. aka that person who speaks in third person about oneself)

Hola my loves,

I’m buzzing right now. Asparkle. Aglow.

I’ve spent the last five days sitting beneath palm trees & white topped tents at the Australian Unschooling Conference.

For the first time since I became pregnant 2.5 years ago (OMG. WHAT? It’s been that long???), I’ve felt like an odd one out.

My spirit was calling me to parent my child in a way that I hadn’t been shown before – and really only heard about in the outside world through blogs.

My love & I forged our own way forward – trusting in our intuition, doing what felt right to us.

One of the biggest teachers for me was Dayna Martin.

I remember reading all four years of her blog archives on my iPod as I nursed Ostara in my arms during the night in those early months.

And her book Radical Unschooling is one of my favourite parenting books.

(You can see the full list of my favourite parenting books here).

What she was proposing was totally foreign to me…

and yet…

It made my heart sing. My souls light up. My mind say:

Yes, this is the truth.

And then by coincidence, I found out that she was coming to Australia.

And not just Australia, but to a Conference I’d never heard of – just ten minutes from my house here in tiny, regional tropical paradise.

I just couldn’t quite believe my luck and the synchronicity.

So the mama goddesses I’ve met here in Proserpine recently decided to come along to the Conference too.

And I went along with the belief that I’d go check out the energy for one day and leave if it wasn’t the right thing for me.

Instead, I fell head over heels in love.

I said I’d felt so alone in my parenting journey since I became pregnant.

And here I was – surrounded by my soul sisters and brothers and children. All parenting in exactly the same way my love and I do. Of course, everyone has their different flavours – and yet… it was the same ingredients. Total love, respect, compassion and joy with our children. In partnership.

Their stories were so similar to mine. They healed me.

I sat in women’s circles with women and cried over talking stick. It has been too long since I’ve circled. I was held by other mamas & grandmothers, all looking in my eyes and heart, saying:

I know. I know. I understand.

A Goddess Circle sister from all the way across the country messaged me & told me she was coming. And we met, and that was it. Instant BFFs. Trolloping around fields with our daughters, talking our stories, photographing while the sun went down.

(Sophie, I love you. And all your family. SO much.)

And seeing Dayna in person and watching her eyes shine and being able to listen to her was just the best. She really is a loving, compassionate, deep, wise soul.

I just… have no words. I’ve been inspired and replenished and inspired. World expanded. Totally more courageous and grounded and centred in knowing that my intuition with my child is spot on. And that I can lead my very own beautiful life the way *I* like it.

And I know I’m talking in post-workshop-high-babble (you know when you’ve had this totally amazing experience, and you’re trying to share about it, and you end up sounding like the Babbling Brook Of HippyLand? It happens to me all the time).

All I really wanted to say was

that I’ve had the most incredible time of my life.

And after the hardest time of my life

my life feels like the sweetest and holy celebration right now.

The last three months have been like a bouquet of freshly sharpened pencils in the loveliest of ways.

And how I am grateful.

(Also, Dayna was a speaker at the World’s Biggest Summit, so you can listen to her through there. Recordings will be available on there permanently.)

All I really wanted to say is:

You are an amazing mama.

Your intuition about your own child is perfect.

Whatever works for your beautiful family is perfect.

And if you haven’t heard of Dayna’s work or unschooling, do check it out if it is making your heart say “Ding!”

I’d recommend starting with her book or blog.

Other than that…

I’m just basking in the love. In acceptance. In what happens when we find our tribe, the souls we are meant to commune with.

I’m so grateful I have tears in my eyes.

I just want to say over and over:

Thank you Great Spirit. Thank you.

So much love to you precious soul… right where you are right now… you are doing amazingly…