New starts, little souls.

It's what all parents are thinking about and talking about. Some have even been dreaming about it since the start of the summer. The kids are starting school again this week.

With it comes the exhilaration at your new found freedom or the sad feeling that the summer together has gone all too soon. And that we will miss not only the sun but the time spent together.

Kids will be lining up to join their old friends again or standing around looking for a familiar friendly face in an overwhelming sea of people. As a parent you always hope that your child will be equipped with the strength and self confidence to deal with any feelings of loneliness or fear. There is no greater gut wrenching moment than when you fear your child is the one feeling like the odd one out or "Billy no mates".

My child is lucky to have had many friends in her class in the last few years.

This year she will be starting a new class, with barely a close friend in it. Not as bad as starting afresh in a new school perhaps but as a mum of a sensitive, bright little girl still a moment of apprehension. Will her old friends soon forget to include her at playtime as new bonds form in the current class? Will she feel like a little lost soul in a class full of friendships carried through from previous years? Perhaps not. Probably not.

She will most likely form new friendships. Add to those formed last year and meet some new friendly faces. That's what we tell each other and encourage her to do.

Building the excitement for her about the new class, new teacher and new friends, I can't help but wonder if we should also mention the fact that if she does find things hard, that is ok too. To not shy away from the hard part that can be school's social life. To prepare her rather than to merely hope that she won't feel lonely or sad sometimes.

For now I will send her off with a little note telling her we all love her and hope she enjoys her lovely new class. Positive thinking with a little love as back up.

Back to school it is. Enjoy everyone!

Comments

Stuff it.

Ever feel like you just want someone to come and remove all the junk from your house? The stuff: the kids toys they never play with (but happily scatter around the house); the unread books, the clothes we've outgrown (yet the kids will still pull out, discard in the washing basket unworn for you to wash over and over unknowingly); the things lurking in drawers and cupboards; the things you trip over in the garage. The stuff. This minimalist, Scandi-style is all the rage lately. But after having spent 3 years aiming to reduce the amount of clutter in our house, I can only conclude that I have been defeated. We seem to bring in far more than we get rid off. It's so tempting to get the black bin liners out and just swoop from room to room chucking everything out. Because it's the sorting through, the planning how and where to take things to (tip, charity shop, donate etc) that takes up all the time and makes me loose the will to live. OK, maybe not to live, but at least...

Checking out the new talent in town - Elder & Wolf Whitley Bay

Third time lucky. I wanted to try out this new place for a while but as it is not open on Mondays & Tuesdays I've been left standing looking through the window a few times - tiny Tim style. So when my friend and I wanted to walk somewhere for lunch this week, I knew where to go. Luckily, it did not disappoint. The place serves food as tasty as it is pretty and the decor is modern, quirky and has plenty of Instagram appeal. Ok, I am a teenager at heart. Nothing like a picture of a drink with flowers floating around in it. Or the toilet. Might need to explain that one. They have a wall for customers' messages - see the post-it wall. Guess which one is mine? They serve wood-fired pizzas, a concise list of generously-sized lunchtime dishes complemented by a few daily specials. The pizzas smell amazing and all the food is prepared at a customer-facing counter. The place has two seating areas; one at the front overlooking the wood-fired oven and one larger, art-covered room ...

"Get back in your box" and other thoughts on blogging.

When I look at other people's blogs I love the ones which are multidimensional. I have a preference for those which cover everything from fashion to travel, beauty to food and are personal, open conversations, preferably of the rambling, spill the beans - there is a word I'm looking for here, can't think of it - type. So how come when I think about writing a new post, which differs slightly from my usual slightly neurotic, comical content I feel like a fraud? As if someone will put a big red mark across the page saying "NO. This is not your territory. Get back in your box". I'd love to expand my blog (even calling it that makes me feel like a vain, self-centred idiot) to cover other interests I have in life, to post some of my favourite products I use, fashion loves or places I have visited. To display some pictures rather than hide behind drawings would be cool. So why don't I? It all links back to the fear of criticism. It's somehow easier to t...

MEscovery

Search This Blog