Pamela Sorooshian

Hi --

Well - I've been missing for a week, tomorrow. We had a fire in our
garage (started in the dryer motor). The garage is attached to the
house - we smelled smoke, opened the garage door (a big heavy metal-
backed fire door) and the garage was filled with flames, floor to
rafters. My husband BRILLIANTLY slammed the door shut and yelled,
"Everybody get out NOW!" He grabbed the phone and threw it to me and
I dialed 911. Roya grabbed the dog and shoved her out the front door
and then she grabbed the brand-new little baby hamster that I got for
my birthday. We all stood on the front sidewalk, watching the smoke
pouring from the entire house and flames above the garage. I thought
the house was lost, but the fire department put it out pretty
quickly. Only the garage really burned - but the rest of the house
filled with smoke.

So - here is what my kids are getting to experience:

1. VERY close quarters. We've been in a hotel for a week - five of
us, a large dog, a tiny hamster, plus a couple of friends who have
spent a lot of time here. Good thing we LIKE each other. Good thing
all those things "they say" about teenagers are not true - they're
not totally self-centered, they don't have "attitude problems," they
care about each other and about their parents and they are doing what
they can to make this difficult time, not just bearable, but actually
something of an adventure. Not one of them has complained at all.
Most of their belongings are not going to be returned for 3 to 9
months - they're just glad we're all together. They are "rising to
the occasion" with flying colors! Far from us being at each other's
throats, like people seem to expect, it has brought us closer to each
other - reminded us to appreciate each other.

2. A LOT of people have asked the kids if they "had to miss any
school." They act like THAT would be either the best or the worst
part of this whole situation. Sometimes they act like the kids must
be happy to have an excuse to miss school and other times they act
like it was be really awful to have to miss. Roxana has musical
theater and dance classes and Rosie had karate and a guitar class -
we got them there. Roya is a full-time college student - she missed
her Monday morning class, but hasn't had to miss classes or work,
since. Cyrus has had to take quite a bit of time off work this week
- but won't have to miss much more, since I'm around to handle stuff.

3. EVERY single thing will be taken out of our house, inventoried,
packed, taken to a cleaning facility, wiped off, put into an ozone
chamber, repacked, stored until we're back into our house, then
returned and unpacked. We will have a list of every single movable
item in our house. That's kind of fun and we're thinking we'll keep
the list going after we move back in - so we'll know where everything
is!

4. Each kid is "remodeling" their own room - new paint, new carpet,
new curtains, some new furniture - and we're going to take advantage
of being out of our house to do additional remodeling, too. So we've
already had some good discussions about color schemes and the
ambience they want to create in their own rooms and how we want the
common areas - living room, dining room, hallways, entryway, kitchen,
and bathrooms - to feel, what our constraints are, how different
options would fit with our chosen lifestyle, etc. Very cool - really
"educational."


I'm sure there is more - but I just thought I'd post a little about
what our unschooling life is currently like. I won't be around much -
we're sharing a computer AND I pretty much have a new full-time job
of supervising what's going on at my house while, at the same time,
figuring out all the things you have to figure out when you remodel -
buying new appliances, choosing flooring, picking out paint, and so
on. We don't really know, yet, how long we'll be out of our house,
but we're guessing it'll be three months or so.

Life goes on and it is good!

-pam

Robin Bentley

What an experience (ongoing <g>) Pam! Thanks for letting us know how things
are going - I've been thinking of you since Sandra let us know what
happened.



I just love hearing how you all are approaching this. For so many people, a
garage fire and the aftermath would send them into a tailspin. You've found
learning, closeness, fun and new things to look forward to. That's so cool.



Robin B.



_____

From: [email protected]
[mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Pamela
Sorooshian
Sent: Saturday, March 11, 2006 7:13 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: [UnschoolingDiscussion] Our house



Hi --

Well - I've been missing for a week, tomorrow. We had a fire in our
garage (started in the dryer motor). The garage is attached to the
house - we smelled smoke, opened the garage door (a big heavy metal-
backed fire door) and the garage was filled with flames, floor to
rafters. My husband BRILLIANTLY slammed the door shut and yelled,
"Everybody get out NOW!" He grabbed the phone and threw it to me and
I dialed 911. Roya grabbed the dog and shoved her out the front door
and then she grabbed the brand-new little baby hamster that I got for
my birthday. We all stood on the front sidewalk, watching the smoke
pouring from the entire house and flames above the garage. I thought
the house was lost, but the fire department put it out pretty
quickly. Only the garage really burned - but the rest of the house
filled with smoke.

So - here is what my kids are getting to experience:

1. VERY close quarters. We've been in a hotel for a week - five of
us, a large dog, a tiny hamster, plus a couple of friends who have
spent a lot of time here. Good thing we LIKE each other. Good thing
all those things "they say" about teenagers are not true - they're
not totally self-centered, they don't have "attitude problems," they
care about each other and about their parents and they are doing what
they can to make this difficult time, not just bearable, but actually
something of an adventure. Not one of them has complained at all.
Most of their belongings are not going to be returned for 3 to 9
months - they're just glad we're all together. They are "rising to
the occasion" with flying colors! Far from us being at each other's
throats, like people seem to expect, it has brought us closer to each
other - reminded us to appreciate each other.

2. A LOT of people have asked the kids if they "had to miss any
school." They act like THAT would be either the best or the worst
part of this whole situation. Sometimes they act like the kids must
be happy to have an excuse to miss school and other times they act
like it was be really awful to have to miss. Roxana has musical
theater and dance classes and Rosie had karate and a guitar class -
we got them there. Roya is a full-time college student - she missed
her Monday morning class, but hasn't had to miss classes or work,
since. Cyrus has had to take quite a bit of time off work this week
- but won't have to miss much more, since I'm around to handle stuff.

3. EVERY single thing will be taken out of our house, inventoried,
packed, taken to a cleaning facility, wiped off, put into an ozone
chamber, repacked, stored until we're back into our house, then
returned and unpacked. We will have a list of every single movable
item in our house. That's kind of fun and we're thinking we'll keep
the list going after we move back in - so we'll know where everything
is!

4. Each kid is "remodeling" their own room - new paint, new carpet,
new curtains, some new furniture - and we're going to take advantage
of being out of our house to do additional remodeling, too. So we've
already had some good discussions about color schemes and the
ambience they want to create in their own rooms and how we want the
common areas - living room, dining room, hallways, entryway, kitchen,
and bathrooms - to feel, what our constraints are, how different
options would fit with our chosen lifestyle, etc. Very cool - really
"educational."


I'm sure there is more - but I just thought I'd post a little about
what our unschooling life is currently like. I won't be around much -
we're sharing a computer AND I pretty much have a new full-time job
of supervising what's going on at my house while, at the same time,
figuring out all the things you have to figure out when you remodel -
buying new appliances, choosing flooring, picking out paint, and so
on. We don't really know, yet, how long we'll be out of our house,
but we're guessing it'll be three months or so.

Life goes on and it is good!

-pam






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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Joanne

Thanks for updating us Pam. You've been on my mind since Sanda
posted about the fire. If there's anything I can do, please let me
know.

~ Joanne ~
Mom to Jacqueline (7), Shawna (10) & Cimion (13)
Adopted into our hearts October 30, 2003
http://anunschoolinglife.blogspot.com/



--- In [email protected], Pamela Sorooshian
<pamsoroosh@...> wrote:
>
> Hi --
>
> Well - I've been missing for a week, tomorrow. We had a fire in
our
> garage (started in the dryer motor). The garage is attached to
the
> house - we smelled smoke, opened the garage door (a big heavy
metal-
> backed fire door) and the garage was filled with flames, floor to
> rafters. My husband BRILLIANTLY slammed the door shut and yelled,
> "Everybody get out NOW!" He grabbed the phone and threw it to me
and
> I dialed 911. Roya grabbed the dog and shoved her out the front
door
> and then she grabbed the brand-new little baby hamster that I got
for
> my birthday. We all stood on the front sidewalk, watching the
smoke
> pouring from the entire house and flames above the garage. I
thought
> the house was lost, but the fire department put it out pretty
> quickly. Only the garage really burned - but the rest of the
house
> filled with smoke.
>
> So - here is what my kids are getting to experience:
>
> 1. VERY close quarters. We've been in a hotel for a week - five
of
> us, a large dog, a tiny hamster, plus a couple of friends who
have
> spent a lot of time here. Good thing we LIKE each other. Good
thing
> all those things "they say" about teenagers are not true -
they're
> not totally self-centered, they don't have "attitude problems,"
they
> care about each other and about their parents and they are doing
what
> they can to make this difficult time, not just bearable, but
actually
> something of an adventure. Not one of them has complained at all.
> Most of their belongings are not going to be returned for 3 to 9
> months - they're just glad we're all together. They are "rising
to
> the occasion" with flying colors! Far from us being at each
other's
> throats, like people seem to expect, it has brought us closer to
each
> other - reminded us to appreciate each other.
>
> 2. A LOT of people have asked the kids if they "had to miss any
> school." They act like THAT would be either the best or the worst
> part of this whole situation. Sometimes they act like the kids
must
> be happy to have an excuse to miss school and other times they
act
> like it was be really awful to have to miss. Roxana has musical
> theater and dance classes and Rosie had karate and a guitar class -

> we got them there. Roya is a full-time college student - she
missed
> her Monday morning class, but hasn't had to miss classes or work,
> since. Cyrus has had to take quite a bit of time off work this
week
> - but won't have to miss much more, since I'm around to handle
stuff.
>
> 3. EVERY single thing will be taken out of our house,
inventoried,
> packed, taken to a cleaning facility, wiped off, put into an
ozone
> chamber, repacked, stored until we're back into our house, then
> returned and unpacked. We will have a list of every single
movable
> item in our house. That's kind of fun and we're thinking we'll
keep
> the list going after we move back in - so we'll know where
everything
> is!
>
> 4. Each kid is "remodeling" their own room - new paint, new
carpet,
> new curtains, some new furniture - and we're going to take
advantage
> of being out of our house to do additional remodeling, too. So
we've
> already had some good discussions about color schemes and the
> ambience they want to create in their own rooms and how we want
the
> common areas - living room, dining room, hallways, entryway,
kitchen,
> and bathrooms - to feel, what our constraints are, how different
> options would fit with our chosen lifestyle, etc. Very cool -
really
> "educational."
>
>
> I'm sure there is more - but I just thought I'd post a little
about
> what our unschooling life is currently like. I won't be around
much -
> we're sharing a computer AND I pretty much have a new full-time
job
> of supervising what's going on at my house while, at the same
time,
> figuring out all the things you have to figure out when you
remodel -
> buying new appliances, choosing flooring, picking out paint, and
so
> on. We don't really know, yet, how long we'll be out of our
house,
> but we're guessing it'll be three months or so.
>
> Life goes on and it is good!
>
> -pam
>

Karri Lewis

Wow! When life hands us, unschoolers lemons we make lemonade and it's darn good too;-) Please let me know, if you need anything. I live very close by here in Lakewood and would be happy to assist with anything. We are in the middle of a whole house remodel too, although we didn't have a fire to spur us on. ttyl
-Karri

Pamela Sorooshian <pamsoroosh@...> wrote:
Hi --

Well - I've been missing for a week, tomorrow. We had a fire in our
garage (started in the dryer motor). The garage is attached to the
house - we smelled smoke, opened the garage door (a big heavy metal-
backed fire door) and the garage was filled with flames, floor to
rafters. My husband BRILLIANTLY slammed the door shut and yelled,
"Everybody get out NOW!" He grabbed the phone and threw it to me and
I dialed 911. Roya grabbed the dog and shoved her out the front door
and then she grabbed the brand-new little baby hamster that I got for
my birthday. We all stood on the front sidewalk, watching the smoke
pouring from the entire house and flames above the garage. I thought
the house was lost, but the fire department put it out pretty
quickly. Only the garage really burned - but the rest of the house
filled with smoke.

So - here is what my kids are getting to experience:

1. VERY close quarters. We've been in a hotel for a week - five of
us, a large dog, a tiny hamster, plus a couple of friends who have
spent a lot of time here. Good thing we LIKE each other. Good thing
all those things "they say" about teenagers are not true - they're
not totally self-centered, they don't have "attitude problems," they
care about each other and about their parents and they are doing what
they can to make this difficult time, not just bearable, but actually
something of an adventure. Not one of them has complained at all.
Most of their belongings are not going to be returned for 3 to 9
months - they're just glad we're all together. They are "rising to
the occasion" with flying colors! Far from us being at each other's
throats, like people seem to expect, it has brought us closer to each
other - reminded us to appreciate each other.

2. A LOT of people have asked the kids if they "had to miss any
school." They act like THAT would be either the best or the worst
part of this whole situation. Sometimes they act like the kids must
be happy to have an excuse to miss school and other times they act
like it was be really awful to have to miss. Roxana has musical
theater and dance classes and Rosie had karate and a guitar class -
we got them there. Roya is a full-time college student - she missed
her Monday morning class, but hasn't had to miss classes or work,
since. Cyrus has had to take quite a bit of time off work this week
- but won't have to miss much more, since I'm around to handle stuff.

3. EVERY single thing will be taken out of our house, inventoried,
packed, taken to a cleaning facility, wiped off, put into an ozone
chamber, repacked, stored until we're back into our house, then
returned and unpacked. We will have a list of every single movable
item in our house. That's kind of fun and we're thinking we'll keep
the list going after we move back in - so we'll know where everything
is!

4. Each kid is "remodeling" their own room - new paint, new carpet,
new curtains, some new furniture - and we're going to take advantage
of being out of our house to do additional remodeling, too. So we've
already had some good discussions about color schemes and the
ambience they want to create in their own rooms and how we want the
common areas - living room, dining room, hallways, entryway, kitchen,
and bathrooms - to feel, what our constraints are, how different
options would fit with our chosen lifestyle, etc. Very cool - really
"educational."


I'm sure there is more - but I just thought I'd post a little about
what our unschooling life is currently like. I won't be around much -
we're sharing a computer AND I pretty much have a new full-time job
of supervising what's going on at my house while, at the same time,
figuring out all the things you have to figure out when you remodel -
buying new appliances, choosing flooring, picking out paint, and so
on. We don't really know, yet, how long we'll be out of our house,
but we're guessing it'll be three months or so.

Life goes on and it is good!

-pam






"List Posting Policies" are provided in the files area of this group.

Visit the Unschooling website and message boards: <http://www.unschooling.info>



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Karri, Lindsay (4/16/02) and Camden (6/8/04)

We are students of words; we are shut up in schools, and colleges, and recitation rooms, for ten or fifteen years, and come out at last with a bag of wind, a memory of words, and do not know a thing.
--Ralph Waldo Emerson






















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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

elizabeth roberts

Pam,

I'm so very sorry to hear about the fire, but happy that everyone is alright and your house wasn't a total loss!!!! (HUGS) to all of you, and you'll be in my prayers!

Beth


Sing, Dance, Laugh...LOVE!

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elainegh8

Thankyou for posting about your family's experience. It helps me think
more about unschooling.

BWs Elaine