'You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth' Khalil Gibran.
We missed last week's Living Arrows post as we're all just a little frazzled. The relaxing of Covid rules has been wonderful but not without it's challenges. As someone with Autism, all change is disruptive, even if it's good change. I think I hit burn out last week. I couldn't focus on anything, I was a shouty mum and a bit of a rubbish partner. I just shut down for a while and entered survival mode.
'You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth' Khalil Gibran.
'You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth' Khalil Gibran.
This has pretty much been us for the last week. We've been living off Easter chocolate, watching too much TV and staying our pyjamas most of the time. It's been a bit of a rough week, I've had some ongoing health difficulties that are being investigated and it's hit me pretty hard this week so we're taking things steady.
'You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth' Khalil Gibran.
Hooray for being able to see people! We've begun taking very tentative steps towards 'normal' and we met up with my sister-in-law, my niece and my father-in-law (they live together so one household). It's been so nice for the two cousins to play together, they get on so well as they are only 3 months apart in age and are often mistaken for twins. We went for a walk to the local park and then on an adventure to the crepe van that's touring the local area.
Hooray! We made it- Happy 'Rule of 6' day everyone! How are we all feeling about it? I'm not going to lie, I'm apprehensive but I met a friend for a walk today and it was just the tonic I needed. We walked through town after school drop off and got coffee then walked down the local canal where it was nice and quiet. I was pleased to see that town wasn't too busy. I anticipated that a change in rules may have sent people crazy, thinking they could do what they want but so far so good.
Why does no one ever mention how emotional it is when your child uses a 'big girl swing' for the first time? I watched Iris sitting on the swing, moving it herself and I thought 'where did my baby go?'. I read a blog post earlier in the week about how as parents, we don't know when 'the last time' is. I can't remember the last bottle I gave her or the last nappy I changed and now here I am not knowing that her previous time in the baby swing may have been her last.
How has everybody's first week back at school been? I do hope everyone had fun and settled back in okay. Iris has been at preschool throughout the lockdown so I didn't expect things to change that much but the preschool is a lot busier now- I didn't realise quite how many of the regular children hadn't been going. It's worrying for me as it means a higher Covid risk but for Iris it's been a wonderful opportunity to make new friends.
Last week's Living Arrows post was entitled 'sliding into Spring'. Apparently that was a big ol' lie because this week has seen the weather back to freezing so the big coats, the hats and scarfs and the flasks are back!
'You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth' Khalil Gibran.
It's been another week of park trips and long walks for us. Not much will change for us on the 8th March as Iris has been attending pre-school anyway but I am so happy that children are returning to school, as much as the pandemic is far from over I think children have lost enough time with friends and enough education now. If we're going to start anywhere I think school is the best place to start. There's been a lot of talk about how can it be safe to let 30 children back into one room but I know for a fact that there will be more than 30 people in my local Wetherspoons when it opens so schools in comparison will be lesser numbers mixing than shops and pubs.
'You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth' Khalil Gibran.
I bought a trampoline. For some reason I've always disliked trampolines, I think they ruin the aesthetics of a garden in a way that a nice wooden play house doesn't. My dream was to have a lovely coordinated play area where my child can potter and entertain themselves. I set my expectations far too high.
'You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth' Khalil Gibran.
This picture looks like she's about to drop some sick hip hop beats (I cringed writing that- I feel so old!). Hasn't it been a cold week!? The thermals and flasks have definitely been used. I've been feeling a bit rubbish this week due to an ear infection and whilst I'd have preferred not to go out this week, the truth is we struggle if we don't get out.
'You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth' Khalil Gibran.
I've got so many lovely photos from this week, glorious close ups from our many, many trips to the park, happy times feeding the ducks and jumping in muddy puddles but I wanted to share this picture today because let's face it- this is how we've been spending most of our days.
'You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth' Khalil Gibran.
Here we are again. At the park. Wow! it's really feeling like groundhog day isn't it? I don't really have much to say this week. It's been a tough one, emotions are high, patience is thin. We're just about keeping our head above water. We've played, read and snacked. We've waved at great grandparents through windows and ordered them jigsaw puzzles to keep them sane. We're missing family so deeply.
You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth' Khalil Gibran.
I genuinely don't believe there is a better picture to sum up childhood than this one! Complete abandonment of all social protocols and just throwing herself into the snow. I love how this picture captures a child's freedom, impulsivity and utter joy. I think we could all do with giving into to our childhood desires at the minute, letting go, or at least loosening the expectations we place on ourselves.
New year, new lockdown! We're one of the lucky ones, Iris is in Early Years and still able to attend her pre-school, though for how long is anyone's guess! Thankfully her setting is very small, just one room with a handful of children so I don't feel too concerned for her safety. There are daily temperature checks, new rules regarding things going in and out of the building and as much outdoor play as possible which suits Iris just fine as she's always outside whatever the weather!
Parenting through this pandemic has been harder than I ever imagined. I'll admit that I've been jealous of those without children. I've thought about how if we didn't have Iris we would barely have left the house, how we'd have curled up and binge watching tv in peace. How much writing I could have done, how much more creative I could have been, how much tidier the house would have stayed. I feel so guilty for having such thoughts but I know I’m not alone. Being a parent is hard. We need play dates, soft plays and library sing-a-longs. Coffee dates, visiting relatives and sleepovers at Grandma’s are the fabric of our everyday life. It’s what keeps us sane. They say ‘it takes a village’ and they aren’t wrong. We’ve survived 10 long months without that village and that is something to be proud of.
