Making friends

At the start of this week, with Term 2 in school, I decided that I am going to make some friends. After all, I'll be in this school for at least the next 6 years if nothing changes.

I watched my daughter make friends with other children after school at the school playground and am very proud of her openness and willingness to play with others. We would stay back after school for afternoon tea and the girls get to play for awhile. There are a few other families who would stay and let their children play before going home.

I thought that I should make friends too, though I quite enjoy the solitary time making balloons myself.

It was difficult. It made me remember what it was like to be a new member of a group that already has so many 'friends'.

You know, I thank God for children. They are one gift from God that bring people together. I held my nearly 2 y.o.'s hand and went up to a mum, also with a 2 y.o., and asked if our children can play together. And a conversation started. Now, the girls are friends and I know someone by name at school.

Strangely enough, all, except one, of the children who stayed back to play were not from my daughter's year level. The one who is the same age as my daughter has an older brother and they all play together.

By the end of the week, I know the names of 3 mums! Hooray! I have to thank God for helping me step out of my comfort zone to talk to others. You see, I'm an introvert. I am happy to be on my own, without friends and be in my own world. It is frightening to make friends. Not so much the relationship building, but that first step. Never been easy. My palms perspire, my head comes up with 101 responses if people reject me, my face turns red, I get tongue-tied... Just to take that first step out to say, "Hi!"

So, now that I have made myself known, I hope to establish these friendships throughout my days in the school. Sphere: Related Content

Learning as a schoolie mum.

Having been a schoolie mum for a term, I'm getting used to the routine and is able to manage my time a little better.

It has been a steep learning curve as there was no easing into it. It was wham-bang 8:45am - 3pm school hours from the first day.

School lunches are getting easier to pack and school-play routine more or less sorted out.

We still get readers in the bag to read everyday, but with an earlier dinner, we are able to enjoy it a lot better, rather than rushing for the Preppie to shut her eyes and sleep.

I have learnt that it's ok to let some things slip by. We had 9 weeks of school in Term 1 and by week 8, Miss 5y.o. had difficulties waking up in the morning. I have been packing breakfast in the car and letting her sleep in a little. There are two sides to the argument. One will say no, they need to learn the consequences of waking up late, or they need the discipline to be up at that time whether they like it or not. My side of the argument is, I'd rather pack breakfast and let her eat in the car than have a grumpy and cranky child to start the day off. That extra 10-15 mins really helps to get her spirits right. After all, if I had woken her up 10-15 mins earlier, I'll be battling her to eat her breakfast for that time frame anyway.

While I have no intention to teach my children that sleeping in when duty calls is ok, I do want them to know that we are not perfect and once in awhile it is ok to just go in late and apologise for waking up late. She has worked hard during the day and she does need the sleep to bring her through another day. Sphere: Related Content