Grateful to see the good side

Sometimes I look at my children, really closely. I pull them close and peer at them, studying their every feature and touching them, memorising every bump and crease. What am I looking for? Evidence of their horns or tails of course.

My husband is constantly calling me at work to say how well behaved the children have been. I pick them up from their grand-parents', who tell me they hardly knew the children were there, that's how good they were. I hear this time and time again, but have not witnessed the children they speak of.

I walk in the door, and I swear their little eyes glow a strange, fluorescent red. They rush toward me like they might devour me before I even set down my handbag. It isn't long before Master 5 and
Miss 8 are growling and clawing at each other like wild dogs.

Maybe I give off a bad energy? I haven't quite figured this out yet. My husband looks at me bewildered, wondering himself what force has possessed the children. I throw him the "yeah, sure they have been good" look.

Today was nothing out of the ordinary. I fed the kids their usual breakfast, dressed them and dropped them at school. I went to work, performed the usual weekly tasks. Drove the same route to and from work. Arrived and finished at the same time as usual. So, when I walked in the door, I braced myself for the usual mayhem.

Things felt different as soon as I got out of the car. I couldn't quite put my finger on what it was. I walked in the door and looked around. The children were sitting nicely, one on the lounge, the other at the computer. Both smiled and greeted me. Hubby greeted me and asked about my day, like what I was seeing was normal. It was anything but normal and I realised the strange feeling I had felt was from the absence of arguing as soon as I was in earshot.

Hubby gave me a wink as he headed out the door toward the garage. Ahhhhh .... this is where things return to normal, and the joke is over? I enquired about the day with the children and they excitedly took turns to tell me about footy colours day at school, that they both had someone in their class with a birthday, and then I witnessed the darnedest thing. The children sat together at the computer visiting their Moshi Monster sites in turn and giving each other tips and praise in their accomplishments.

It was quite surreal to say the least. I went about looking through the mail, checking on tea, making a cuppa for hubby and myself while enjoying the pleasant banter between the children.

I could get quite used to this! I didn't dare ask myself how long it would last. I just wanted to soak up the moment and stopped short of grabbing the video camera so I could watch it again and again.

I am still in shock - as this behaviour has mostly been maintained the whole evening until bedtime.

I still haven't felt their horns or tails by the way

So to say I am grateful would be an understatement. I have ended the week on a lovely high.

The child with devil horns and a halo

image source

Just when you think that your child has reached the point of no return and grown the horns of a devil, they turn around and stun you with a simple gesture of kindness.

It would be correct to say that on most days my son is the clear winner of The Drive Mummy Crazy and Makes Sure Mummy Has More Grey Hairs By The End Of The Day awards.

He does all the gross things that boys do, especially to his sister. Theirs is often a love /hate relationship, and the love can turn to hate in an instant.

Today, even though Miss 8 was at school for 8 hours, I had still had enough of the bickering between the two of them, the pushing, the evil faces, and the taunts. It became an automatic reaction to jump in between them by the end of the day.

As night fell, and bedtime was in sight, we performed our nightly rituals and the pj's were on. This is always a calming signal to my frayed nerves. The donning of the night attire is the light at the end of the tunnel for me.

Tonight, though Miss 8 was distressed with another leg ache. I sat and rubbed her leg as I supervised the swallowing of ALL of the pain relief. Master 4 wanted to climb on my knee at that point. Here we go, I thought, another power struggle for attention.  But just when you think you have it figured out, the world spins a little faster to tip you off balance.

With his position secured on my knee, Master 4 then started rubbing his sister's leg too. "Does that feel better, am I doing it right?" he asked his sister. Despite all of the bickering, the tears and the yelling of the day, she relaxed under his touch and smiled sweetly at his gesture.

I informed her she had to finish the whole dose of pain relief. With much drama, she stated "Really? I think it is going to make me sick!" Master 4 bolted from my knee to grab a bucket from the laundry. He placed it ever so carefully in front of his sister. "There you go, just in case you need it". Miss 8 looked at me with a smirk and shrugged. She understood the moment. Siblings may bicker, but at the end of the day, you are there for each other.

Grateful for .... community spirit

They came in droves, some already carrying their lit candles. Many were arm in arm.
Like moths to a flame the friends and family of Taylor Lacey descended upon the rivers' edge under the bridge where Taylor was last seen 1 week ago.

I stood in amazement, turning in circles, trying to take in the magnitude of the moment.

So many people in one place to pay their respects to this teenager, and I'm talking hundreds. They diligently waited for their turn to sit their candle on the rivers' edge or place it in the water to float down. Flowers were also floating in the water, or placed between the candles.

The sight was magnificent.

Just as magnificent was the atmosphere created by these people who were not only there for Taylor, but for each other. Tears flowed freely and they comforted each other. The respect and the harmony I felt standing amongst these people put a lump in my throat.

After placing their candles, many chose to stand on the bridge and take in the view. From below, the sight of the people lining the bridge from end to end and several deep was amazing.

The SES volunteers, of which I was one, wanted to be present, not only to pay our respects for the teen for whom tedious searches had been in place for the last week, but to create a safe environment.  We need not have worried. The event had been organised on Facebook and had grown by word of mouth to show over 900 attending. Such a big crowd, full of emotion might cause concern. Tonight, the crowd was very respectful of those around them, and showed great caution close to the river. It was still an honour to be present.

I hope the gathering was helpful to the people who attended, and those who organised it.  It was a beautiful way to remember somebody. My heart goes out to all who are missing Taylor Lacey.

The candle vigil on the banks of the Derwent River (photo by NN News - click here to see their article)

Happiness is .... happy children.

 

Our house is commonly full of noise of one sort or another. I would expect this from four people sharing a small house. I would also expect some noise from the children. That's what childhood is all about right ... expressing yourself and testing the barriers.

There is also a fair share of sibling rivalry.

So when my children sit down and play nicely that really is a lovely moment. A moment to treasure and definately one that brings happiness and harmony to the house.

Sometimes, but definately not all the time, these two are very close.

He likes to see things from every angle, including from the lounge.

Thanks again to Rub Some Dirt On It for the blog hop. http://rubsomedirtblog.com/

Happiness Is…

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