School Holidays

By The Red Tent, September 26, 2016

We’re one week down. The coffee consumption has been doubled. A school holidays bucket list is taped to our fridge, written last week when my daughter’s What are we going to do now, mum? questioning was getting a tad too intense. In a world dripping with problems and ignorant, closed-off people driving those problems, it’s such a relief for me to turn away from them towards my children. Their worlds soothe me. I’m lulled by their simple requests for twinkly lights and movies. Can you make it all cosy, mum? I’m grounded by laughing girls at sleepovers, asking for chocolate. I’m encouraged that while I can’t change every sexist, racist, homophobic and fearful person in this world, I can certainly shape the worldview my children embrace. I can certainly point to those people as say, “Honey – you see that? You see that comment? You see that behaviour? You see what they’re endorsing? You see what they think of women and their bodies and their place in this world and how they have to be to in order to be desirable by men? You see what they think of muslims and gay people and refugees and anybody who is different from them or challenges them? Let’s talk about that. Let’s add another voice to that story. Let’s work to clear their toxic poison from our air. And after we stand up, let’s stand back. Let’s pay attention not to what they are saying about the world, but what they are saying about themselves.”

But for now, it’s all about waterslides and nail salons, ice blocks and skate parks, movie nights and make-believe monsters as I thoroughly enjoy these golden years of my children’s childhood.

What an honour and responsibility it is to parent a child.

Our school holidays bucket list getting ticked:

Catch A Firefly.

At the break of spring, fireflies emerge. It’s mating season and my brother gets hundreds of them on his property. It was a definite spring bucket list activity to take the kids to see them.

But mum, why do they flash light out their butts?

We tried to capture them on camera with the slowest shutter speed possible.

It felt like Christmas.

Family movie date.

Our boy had his first ever cinematic experience at The Secret Life of Pets. He clutched his ticket the entire movie and I loved that he did this.

His train-watching vantage point at The Barracks cinema was also epic.

It was a good day for our little boy.

Waterpark Re-opening.

Our waterpark down the road is in our top five of all Happy Places. It closes for the winter and we count down the date it re-opens in spring like Christ is coming to earth.

There will be many more trips here over the summer. We basically live here.

Sunsets at the Skate Park.

Meeting our friend Juna at the skate park was a special school holidays bucket list request. We made it happen yesterday.

The dads impressed the kids with their smooth skater moves.

And we loved watching them scoot around and try it out for themselves.

Sleepovers with one of Ella’s Besties.

This one was at the very top of the list for Ella’s school holidays and we prepared for it accordingly. Twinkly movies in the teepee, a dessert bar full of treats, and a nail salon were my daughter’s non-negotiable requests and I obliged because happy girls are my favourite.