Where have all the years gone? Come September our youngest son Ardyn is off to High School to embark on a new and exciting phase of his life.
Hand-in-hand with his excitement, walks fear – as it does for all of us…
- Will I find friends?
- Will I find my way around the school?
- Will I be able to keep up with the work?
- What is expected of me?
The change however is more far reaching than change for Ardyn. Ardyn finishing Primary School brings to a close a whole phase of our family-life. This milestone brings to an end almost 10 years of two daily trips (in term time) to school and being our boys primary carer I am feeling it quite strongly…
Almost a decade of PTA meetings, after school clubs, dress-up days and play dates. It is all morphing into something quite new, not better or worse, just different. Although part of me can’t help but grieve for the connectedness, the craft, the impromptu crazy multi play dates (which included my friends and my boys friends).
It is all changing as they both embark on this new phase which is specially designed to help them distance themselves from their parents and to become independent individuals. (See ‘The Interdependent Stage’ in my May blog).
I don’t miss the sleepless nights, the endless nappy changing (and washing), the tantrums… but I am beginning to miss the connectedness, the blind devotion, the being the centre of their world…
So emotionally I am struggling at times with the grieving of what I am ‘loosing’ but as always, each day brings new delights, which are often unexpected…
- The witty and insightful response to a teasing question…
- The ongoing questions about how things work…
- The asking for advise about girls…
- The request to play a game…
Being a parent is at the same time the hardest and yet the most rewarding thing I have ever done… The ongoing mystery of each moment never allows it to become boring. From moment to moment I may see something I am mind-blowingly grateful for or that makes my skin crawl. I can just never tell which it is to be!
And so the process of growing-up continues in our house.
I am finding that despite spending the past 6 years working towards my personal goals of becoming a coach and helping other mums with their transitions, I am in dire need of my own coach right now!
My regular sessions with my coach (Kristen) help me to connect with what is most important and give me the time and space to listen to my heart around what I need to be doing. I am extremely grateful to Kristen for her assistance in helping me be the person I really want to be and to lead the life I want to live. It is not always easy, but it is never boring!
I truly believe that every person should have a coach.
xx Tina
