My son returned home from survival camp on Friday thick with dirt. Seriously if the Colo River in New South Wales seems to have broken its banks that’s because half of the sand bank is on my laundry floor.
Camp week is always a long week for me. I miss having my little boy around, I miss his constant chatter and his awesome sense of humour. I don’t miss making school lunches or nagging him about homework and tidying his room but I just miss his presence. Walking past his bedroom in the night and seeing it so bloody tidy tugs at my heart.
He, on the other hand, loves camp. He loves being with his friends, he loves not having the routines of school and home, he obviously loves dirt and has no qualms about new and exciting adventures.
That said he was glad to be back, I’m not sure whether he was happier to see his bed, his x-box, the large jar of nutella in the kitchen cupboard or his mobile phone but he was just as happy to see me. He ran off the bus straight to my arms and happily hugged me while I blocked my nose – seriously he admitted later that he hadn’t showered for a week, he stank!.
Regular readers of my blog will know that Little Pencil and I have an amazing relationship in fact at his recent Bar Mitzvah I said in part:
“When Ethan was a baby I gave new meaning to the word helicopter parenting, I was more of an A380 parent. I never left him to cry (which may be one of the reasons he talks so much today) , I kept him close at my side and he stayed glued to mine. People told me I was protecting him too much, overdoing the parenting thing, that I needed to let him go. Well I am here tonight to tell you I don’t regret a single minute of those days because anyone that knows Ethan knows he is an independent young man, he is confident and secure and ready to face the world, he knows how loved he is and he loves his family and friends with a fierceness of his own.”
As part of my helicopter parenting I have never really left Little Pencil, sure he’s been at camps and a billion sleepovers and I have been to Melbourne for work a couple of times but it’s never been long and it’s never been too far. But in 10 days time Mr Pencil and I are leaving Little Pencil (with my sister – the best person in the world to look after him) to go to the US.
This erectile dysfunction drug critique are not able to nicely set up which between the 3 drugs would function india cialis greater than the other given that the outcome is distinct from a single particular person to one more. For people with this condition, the viagra prices result is irritating or annoying or sometimes debilitating. The way Eriacta helps a man to achieve erection is much better because it enlarges the cavity of the blood vessel, thereby allowing it to hold more blood, cialis cheap fast which results in a longer lasting erection. Also you can viagra without prescription uk find some dedicated generic medicine shops and buy this drug at reduced price. It’s a big, big deal for me to get on a plane and fly to another continent without my son. But it’s clear that it’s a big deal for him not for me.
As we hugged outside the school gate and I told Little Pencil how much I missed him, he whispered in my ear and said “only 12 more days”.
“12 days to what?” I asked
“Till I go stay with Aunt Pencil” he answered.
Seriously he is so excited that every morning he wakes up and gives me a count down of how many hours there are till I leave. This is a picture of his phone that I took tonight.
Part of the reason he is so excited is that he’s going to stay with his cousins. His cousins and aunt and uncle who he loves as much, if not more, than his x-box. I feel like the luckiest woman alive, not only am I going on an amazing, romantic holiday with my husband, but I get to leave my son with the best family possible. They make it that much easier for me to leave him, they make him that much more excited we are leaving.
I am sure he’ll be just as ecstatic when I get back. He better bloody be.
I’m not going to answer that. Even though I know (for sure!) what the answer is… ‘Cos I’m old and wise (cough, splutter) and have been there/done that – same but different but same.
Little pencil is going be just fine as will Sharpest Pencil. You’ll all be better than fine! The one constant that is unavoidable though (for all parents who love and adore and worry about their “babies” no matter HOW old they are is just that. We worry!! But rest assured, loved kids know they’re loved. And even though there will be times we may think they just want to push us away, I still believe they need/love the feeling of being safe and secure – as only the feeling of being totally loved gives. Well, at least I hope so!
You see, we DO think the same xxx
Snap Lana. I don’t leave my kids either and I’m really terrible at doing things for myself or just with John. I include them in most things. Not sure if it’s a good thing or not but I do have a fantastic relationship with both my girls. They come to me with their stuff and I didn’t realise how amazing that is until I talked to some of the other parents who don’t seem to know anything that’s going on in their daughters’ lives. Wish I had family close by, I was just staying how much John and I need to get away together, just us. Perhaps I could borrow yours, they sound amazing xo
I love the relationship I have with my son. Even now that he’s 13 we talk for hours, he is the one achievement I am proudest of in my life. This holiday is a HUGE step for me.
That said my family are amazing. I would lend them to you but it could be tricky so in the meantime I will just cook them food using your recipes (trying carbless vegie pasta tonight!) xxx
Oh gosh! 10 days! You will miss him so much but you will have a lovey holiday I am sure. I am giggling at his countdown in his phone though – cheeky bugger
Oh Kelly – I just noticed he has the countdown in his homework diary as well. Seriously cheeky but it does my heart good to see how excited he is at the prospect of hanging with my sister and her family.
We left our then Mr 2 home with Grandma when we went to Marrakech for my bestie’s wedding. They are the very best of pals and on balance, I knew if we took him on the trip it would be about what was best for me (ie. missing him) not what was best for him – cos a fiesty 2 year old wouldn’t care so much for long haul flights and travel! He LOVED the holiday at Grandma’s of course as he is the centre of the universe there. I wouldn’t do the same with my now Mr 2 as he is the biggest Mama’s boy that ever lived. I just know you will have ALL a fabulous time!