March 23, 2014

my family and me - 12/52

I missed last week. But I am not giving up. I'm really happy about taking more family pictures with me and the Captain in them.

We've had a busy couple of weeks.

I did some catering.


There were birthday parties.


Time spent playing at kinder.


We worked out that our dog fitted in the shelf.


And we did another super fun weekend at the beach.




It is no wonder then, that when Sunday came, I really needed to do a whole lot of this.





Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

March 11, 2014

I want to be invisible (in the school yard)



A friend recently asked me - "What superpower would you most like to have? And why?". With less than twenty seconds thinking time I answered that I would like to be able to choose when I could be invisible. When she asked me about the "why" part, my response was swift.


"I want to choose when I can be invisible so that I can avoid all those difficult conversations with tricky people in the playground at the primary school". 

She laughed and told me it was a clever answer. Maybe she thought I was joking. But I have never been more serious. Is it just me who feels like the schoolyard is a potential minefield of exploding parental conversation grenades....or do you feel like this too?

Last week another parent shared with me her concerns that the school may not be going "to cut it" for her child in an academic sense. She shared that her child is coming home and saying things like "I'm bored" and "I learnt this last year". She also told me that she thought she would "be pulling him out for a school with higher standards". I stayed largely mute throughout the conversation. We love the school we have chosen and we are actively playing a role in helping to build the community and support the endeavours of the staff. But I felt a bit bewildered. How did she think I would respond? What did she want from the conversation? I guess she wanted me to validate her thinking....agree with her point of view....Whatever the intention of the conversation, it left me uncomfortable and yes, I wanted to be invisible.

A month ago a different parent and I were having a conversation about the Batsman and his skills particularly related to his autism diagnosis. At one point she said "but it's like that for NORMAL children too". I would have given my left arm to be invisible at that point but instead I put my big girl pants on and had a conversation about how we would never refer or imply that the Batsman is "abnormal". I talked about how we NEVER refer to autism as "the big bad thing" or "the abnormal thing" or "the thing that's wrong with him". It's just not who he is, who we are or how we want him to view himself as he grows. The conversation was successful but a little awkward and left me drained and tired. Where was that invisible superpower when I needed it?

How do you feel about the conversations in the school playground? What superpower do you wish you had?

March 10, 2014

my family and me - 10/52

This is a precious photo.




We had a bit of a close call with my dad a few weeks ago.





There were high temperatures, ambulance transfers, intravenous dips and panicked phone calls.





He's doing ok now after some time in hospital and we are ever so grateful.




A photo like this, with everybody smiling and standing in front of the newly rebuilt surf club which means so much to dad, is one to go on the mantlepiece.





It's certainly one for this #myfamilyandme challenge.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

March 2, 2014

my family and me - 9/52

The boys had a huge day at the RAAF air show today. They were literally bursting with excitement.




Before they left I managed them to get them to sit still long enough for a quick photo. Love my little blokes.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone