“When life gives you a hand, take it, and try and push for the whole arm…”
Ritu
I wrote this last night then realised I should have added a couple of lines to explain!
You see, we should be grateful. Life and God, if you believe, does give us a lot. We have life. Homes, partners, kids, pets, a job… all these things are there, in varying amounts.
But sometimes life throws us a chance.
It’s not always easy to see it or understand it, but my quote above is to do with those ‘hands’ that are offered. I firmly believe that if we are given a chance, we should take it, milk it for all it’s worth, because, surely that was what the opportunity was thrown at us for… to grab it.
Another poem inspired by Lucy of Blonde Write More! Have you ever written a blurb?
Blurbing It Tell me, what on earth’s a blurb? A time your words, you have to curb Take your thousands of words Condense them to fifty – Yup, you heard Make your story sound superb
Years and years crafting your story Many words celebrated with glory Now strip it all back Hack, hack, hack, hack Cos a blurb is obligatory
Well, you need to find a hook Make people want to take a look Those few words, back there Should make people care And want to buy your book
Hey there Peeps! Time for our weekly catch up, get that drink ready!
If we were sipping chai together I’d tell you that it’s been another week of rushing around… And it won’t end anytimes soon either… not whilst that cast is still on Hubby Dearest’s foot…
If we were sipping chai together I’d tell you that this week we had to tiptoe around Lil Princess… Yes, I know she is moody at the best of times, but the past week was stressful for her and her compadres, as it was SATs week. The time the government wants us to test the 7 and 11 year olds, supposedly to see how the school is doing, but inevitably, it ends up stressing the kids out too, no matter how much we try to play them down at school. At 7 it’s a lot easier to make things seem like a usual school day, but at 11 the classrooms change round, with display boards covered up, and desks lined up in exam formation, so even if we are trying not to make things different, they are. She was okay with the English tests but he is not a fan of Maths and they stressed her out, especially the reasoning papers… Still, they all got through and I am told the papers appeared to be pretty fair. So it’s up to the children, as to how they perform. We try, at home, not to make too much of a big deal about it all, but she is old enough to understand that she is being tested and marked… and it affects a child. We celebrated the end by going for icecream at the local Treatz dessert place! (Maybe more my treat than theirs…!)
If we were sipping chai together I’d tell you the usual backs and forths occured with training and tuition, from Tuesday to Sunday… and culminated in a cricket match on Sunday morning, which they lost… but Lil Man bowled pretty fantastically in. Though there were no blue skies this time!
If we were sipping chai together I’d mention that, if you remember, I am the head of the School Council, and we have been raising funds for improvements within the school. One idea we had last year, was to provide books for the three playgrounds for use during lunch time. Not every child wants to run around like a loony, so I made this my project, but time was always against me. Last week, I was informed that I needed to spend the year’s budget, so off I went on Saturday and spent a cool £100 on books for my playground boxes. I also raided my kids bookshelves as there are so many books there that they havem but don’t or won’t read… and hey presto, we have three fantastic boxes ready for the children to dip into!
If we were sipping chai together I’d let you know that the rest of the week went relatively smoothly, but I am still tired!
If we were sipping that chai together, and possibly reaching for cake or cookies I’d tell you that this week cannot go fast enough, as we will be on our half term break from Friday for TWO weeks! Even though it feels like a short while since we had Easter break, the past 5 weeks have been crazy, and I can’t wait!
If we were sipping that chai together, and possibly reaching for cake or cookies I’d mention we have meetings with the Head this coming week to discuss our futures at school, and possible classes for next week… who knows what it may hold????
Have a wonderful week, Peeps! Let me know how your week went!
We all spend time moaning about our kids and their behaviour. It’s a parent’s prerogative, isn’t it?
I have to look out for them…
Then we complain about how they never go out, and spend the whole time on phones and screens (devices we have given them…)
But we are too worried to send them out, like we used to go out. The world is a big, bad place, after all. Social Media and the internet tell us of all these awful things that happen out there. We wrap them up in a certain amount of cotton wool, because we all want to protect our pecious offspring.
A bit too much helicopter parenting, making sure you know exactly what your child is doing at all times, and with whom. Running yourself ragged to get them to all the places you have booked them into to keep them busy, getting frustrated at the cries of “I’m bored!” throughout the weekend and, oh, don’t talk to me about the longer holidays!
It is sad that many of us don’t have the confidence to send our kids out with a little slack on the leash we tend to keep them on.
I hold my hands up. I am guilty of this overprotectiveness.
I NEED to know waht they are doing ALL the time…
But I am also aware of the fact that they have to grow up some time, and they do need to assert their independence. They are going to need to know how to deal with the world, after all.
I’ve hesitantly allowed Lil Man to go to the park with his friends, not long after an assault happened there, (dropping him off, and making sure he was with the right mates, before leaving), I have given Lil Princess the opportunity to walk home alone now, as she has to get ready for Secondary School next year. I’ve left them alone for a short while, as I do grocery shopping. They’ve walked to the shops alone.
Listing these things makes me wonder why I feel they are petty things that all kids should be doing anyway, but it has been hard letting go, believe me. And even if I feel they are ready, and capable of dealing with things, their dad is even more over protective of his children… so I do feel for them sometimes, battling against both of us, just so they can be kids… and experience everything we did.
However, today, we managed to overcome a big step.
I let them go!
The kids.
Out.
All afternoon.
On their bikes!
Ordinary, isn’t it? Something I remember my brother doing every day in the holidays. Disappearing after breakfast on his bike with his little gang of friends, appearing to eat lunch then disappearing again. If I had been the active, outdoory type, I’d have been allowed to do the same, but I preferred my book time, or a walk to the local shops, running errands for my mym (and buying teen magazines or cheap makeup from the chemist!)
Anyway, today the kids enjoyed a proper Old Skool kids afternoon, and they loved it!
I let them be kids!
We live in a cul de sac, and there are a few other children, but no one we knew. Then, a few months ago a new family moved in and they have a boy a similar age to Lil Man, and two girls, younger than Lil Princess. We fed them samosas on Diwali as we all stood out in the street at night, watching the Gurdwara fireworks display, and the bonding started.
The boy has come round a few times, playing Playstation or football in our garden, and Lil Man has been over to his house too.
As the days are better and evenings longer, we get back from school and they have been out, on bikes and scooters, in the safety of our road, and my two have joined them for short whiles. But their bikes were at the in-laws.
Today, we got back from Lil Man’s match, after picking their bikes up, and once they had eaten lunch, they went out… at 2pm… and I didn’t see them until nearly 6pm!
That was a biggie for me. But I read a little and snoozed on the sofa, knowing they were only outside.
Relaxed mum…
When they got back, they were relaxed and happy, having made even more friends, as children from other familes that live on the road joined them too, and they rode bikes, played football, ran races, played games and chatted. All normal kids stuff, that didn’t involve screens at all!
They have now got a little gang of friends together that live here, who can safely get together, of different ages, and different backgrounds too (English, Indian, Polish, Arabic, African) and just one afternoon out together has made the atmosphere in our house totally different.
No arguing and angsty behaviour, just happy children who have exhaustend themselves in the most natural, child-like way.
There’s a lot to be said for fresh air, and just playing.
Here’s to many more afternoons where finally, my kids can be kids, the way I remember childhood.
What do you remember about your childhood that seems to be missing in our kids lives nowadays?
But I Smile Anyway... 