Mother's Day

 

" When you are a mother, you are never really alone in your thoughts. A mother always has to think twice, once for herself and once for her child" .

 

- Sophia Loren, Women and Beauty.



 

 

 

 

Small pieces

My boy has spent his morning building a truck with his big boy lego. I have to admit that I am amazed at his ability to sit still and use those fiddly little pieces to make his creations. He wanted to make a digger exactly the same as the one that was on the box, so he pulled out the instructions and began building. 45 minutes later he came to me with his almost complete masterpiece. There was one problem though, 1 out of the 4 wheels would just not stay on. I looked at his truck and to me it looked pretty perfect. I then poured over the instructions to see if something was missing and couldn't work out what it might be...but there it was. This tiny clear little piece that needed to be fitted very early on had failed to make it's way onto the wheels axle and as result, the wheel just wouldn't stay.

How often does that happen? We go about our day focusing on our to do lists, the bigger picture of what we need to get done, but fail to notice the smaller pieces, the tiny detail that may just make everything fall into place that little bit easier and possibly make our days a little brighter. Stopping to have a quick chat with that work colleague as you both make your 4th cup of coffee for the morning, helping your child make their playdough zoo instead of inisiting you have to vacuum the floors NOW, singing to your precious bundle as you change their clothes for the 10th time that day, actually stopping to have lunch. The little pieces that we so often overlook may actually make everything work just that bit better.

Are there any little pieces you are missing today?

Space Adventure

My boy had his 4th birthday at the beginning of the month. It was a special birthday this year as he was able to celebrate it with his new baby sister. The transition to becoming a big brother was a little difficult for my boy so we (ok, I) decided that this year he could have an extra special birthday party. The Space theme was chosen and from that here is the final result. Photos taken by Julie Lewsey.




The birthday cake



Table set up




My boy and Miss Joy



One of those days

 

I think there are three kinds of days. The ones where you wake up and just know that it's going to be good. The second type you are aware from the moment your eyes open your day is going to be tougher than normal. The third type is a little different though. Everything starts ok, you actually might be fooled into thinking its going to be a great day and then it happens. One little moment, one change in routine or circumstance turns your supposedly good day into a bad one (or a horror one at that). That's what almost happened to us this morning.

My boy had swimming lessons and decided that today, for some reason, would be the day he didn't want to go swimming. Now those of you have had any experience with children will know that when they decide they don't like something or don't want to do it, then you can be sure that it is not going to happen. This is what happened. We had a meltdown, so huge that the entire swimming centre zoned in on me with eyes that said "I'm so glad that's not my child doing that". The reality is though we have all had "that" child. If you haven't then you are either incredibly blessed or lying. I was angry, not so much at my boy but at the circumstance. I think it was more the accusing eyes (well in my mind they were accusing) than the scenario that was causing me my grief. I realised though that I had a choice in that moment. If I wanted to I could really let it get to me, yell at him and threaten him with a day of no privilegdes (which if I am being honest did run through my mind). Or I could talk to him calmly, tell him I would prefer it if he did do his lesson and let his little body work through the emotions with me as to why he was upset and didn't want to do his lesson today. Yes the second option takes longer and probably results in more screaming and tears but I honestly believe that if we allow our children the opportunity to explore their emotions safely then it will beneift them and their relationships in the future. It may also be the difference between a bad moment or a bad day.

So this morning I chose the latter. I'm glad I did as I discovered that my boy was actually scared of the new kid in his group and worried he was going to get left behind in the class. I realised that these meltdown's may have more substance to them than a child merely choosing not to do something because they can (although this is definitey not always the case!). So here's hoping that in the many more of these moments that come my way I have the strength and insight to do the same again...as i said, here's hoping! x