Just under an hour before half term holiday begins!
We're ready for a break. It was all change in September - with Pippa moving to middle school, Susannah into Reception. Pippa has settled well, Susannah seems to be getting the hang of it. At least she isn't crying when she's being left in the classroom any more. Well, not every time.
I hope their memories of their new environments are positive ones. I for one love Russell Street School, and Pippa missed it to begin with. But now she is so grown up with all the new activities and expectations - Middle School is suiting her.
This phase of childhood will be so full of memories, and in the holidays we parents can influence these more than ever.
In the summer I missed blogging about our holiday in Wales, but there I was excited to share my childhood memories of Pembrokeshire with the girls. We camped a short distance along the coast from where my grandparents used to live and I was all full of 'my earliest memory is of this beach... this is where we used to play tennis... we walked round here when we were children... we sometimes went horse riding here....'
Thirty or so years on I was building sandcastles on the same stretch of sand, loving the same views, thinking about the fun we had as kids. Nostalgia. And now the girls have their own take on Welsh holiday memories, also including ponies, sand and sea. The sun even shined some of the time.
Of course it was not all plain sailing. What was my favourite beach became Pippa's worst ever on the sighting of a couple of jelly fish. The best thing about our trip round Skomer Island for me was the puffin spotting and the exhilaration of the sea, for green-at-the-gills Pippa it was getting off the boat at the end. But it was a happy holiday and one that I imagine will be referred to over the years ahead.
This half term holiday we hand over responsibility for the memories to the grandparents as we leave the girls in Lewes for a few days while we continue to work. Hopefully it will be remembered for much more than 'the year we weren't at home for Halloween and missed Trick-or-treating'. This is the first holiday in Mum and Dad's new home and they have put a lot of effort into making it a welcoming place for the kids.
I was lucky to have had a happy childhood and I guess that's all any of us want for our own children. So then, good luck everyone in making special memories for your families this half term.
We're ready for a break. It was all change in September - with Pippa moving to middle school, Susannah into Reception. Pippa has settled well, Susannah seems to be getting the hang of it. At least she isn't crying when she's being left in the classroom any more. Well, not every time.
I hope their memories of their new environments are positive ones. I for one love Russell Street School, and Pippa missed it to begin with. But now she is so grown up with all the new activities and expectations - Middle School is suiting her.
This phase of childhood will be so full of memories, and in the holidays we parents can influence these more than ever.
In the summer I missed blogging about our holiday in Wales, but there I was excited to share my childhood memories of Pembrokeshire with the girls. We camped a short distance along the coast from where my grandparents used to live and I was all full of 'my earliest memory is of this beach... this is where we used to play tennis... we walked round here when we were children... we sometimes went horse riding here....'
Thirty or so years on I was building sandcastles on the same stretch of sand, loving the same views, thinking about the fun we had as kids. Nostalgia. And now the girls have their own take on Welsh holiday memories, also including ponies, sand and sea. The sun even shined some of the time.
Of course it was not all plain sailing. What was my favourite beach became Pippa's worst ever on the sighting of a couple of jelly fish. The best thing about our trip round Skomer Island for me was the puffin spotting and the exhilaration of the sea, for green-at-the-gills Pippa it was getting off the boat at the end. But it was a happy holiday and one that I imagine will be referred to over the years ahead.
This half term holiday we hand over responsibility for the memories to the grandparents as we leave the girls in Lewes for a few days while we continue to work. Hopefully it will be remembered for much more than 'the year we weren't at home for Halloween and missed Trick-or-treating'. This is the first holiday in Mum and Dad's new home and they have put a lot of effort into making it a welcoming place for the kids.
I was lucky to have had a happy childhood and I guess that's all any of us want for our own children. So then, good luck everyone in making special memories for your families this half term.
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