Laura got back today from her trip to the mountains with her friend. It was her first time ever being away with anyone but family, and she had a great time. She also scraped her face on the bottom of a pool. Ouch. I'm not totally sure how that happened, I think it involved a handstand. It was three nights, which I thought was too brief for a trip, but once she was gone and I was talking to her on the phone, we both realized she didn't want to be away any longer. She called me one afternoon while I was in the grocery store, and said that she was a little homesick, but fine, but then she asked, what if she got really homesick? I think she just wanted to know where her parachute was stowed. I gave her some coping strategies and a pep talk, and told her that it would be a big deal, but that her grandma and papa could drive over from their mountain house to get her if they needed to. Somehow I think just having an exit strategy eased her mind, because I barely heard from her after that.
On the subject of vacation reading, she came home having read Roald Dahl's The Witches
and loved it. She's been giving me a play-by-play summary of it. Maybe one to recommend to your kids.
and loved it. She's been giving me a play-by-play summary of it. Maybe one to recommend to your kids.I am glad to have her home. And she brought me some fudge.
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14 comments:
That photo made me cringe--poor Laura! Pool handstands gone wrong...one of the hidden dangers of swimming. ;)
I was just at a book club last night and someone was recommending Roald Dahl's autobiography "Going Solo"--they said it was the sweetest book they'd ever read.
Your oldest child likes reading. Sigh. And Amy, you went to a book club. Big Sigh Again.
And ouch! That is some scrape!
P.S. my word verif was so long--that out to be outlawed for this late at night.
You know what's strange? Having my son leave for three days would seem like a really long time but I've left him at home with my parents for seven days and it went by so quickly that some days, I forgot to call and check on him. I think I should include that on my application for Mother of the Year, don't you?
Anyway, what a great adventure for Laura. I'm glad to see she's home and safe and (mostly) unhurt!
Poor Laura! So glad she had a great time despite the scrapes. Abbott is a total reader too - thanks for the recommendation.
What did you say in the pep talk? I might need to file away some ideas for when the time comes for my kids to go somewhere without me (gulp).
Lecia, I told her three main things:
1) You're with people who really like you and who will take care of you.
2) Sometimes when you feel homesick what you really are is tired of being social. Go be by yourself, read, and recharge your batteries.
3) This is a growing experience for you, but I think you can do it and have fun. But call me anytime.
It was one of those on-the-fly parenting moments. I was standing in the bread aisle at the grocery store going, "Okay, think, Becky!" When she got home she had only good things to say about the time she had.
Dude, I need to remember number 2 for myself.
We love, love, love Roald Dahl over here (and fudge). Laura might also like his The BFG.
Wow! #2 is soooo wise!
I think having a parachute packed allows us to handle ANYTHING.
Poor Laura's sweet face.
Good job on this one, Mom!
Your kids are so great and that advice was spot on, especially for being in-the-bread-aisle advice. What a good mom!
Becky, I love the pep talk you gave Laura. Can you give me one when I see you this summer????
has she read The Penderwicks by Jeanne Birdsall yet? I am so in love with that book.
Youch, that looks like a nasty face scrape. I'm 33 and I scraped my nose on the bottom of our pool a few weeks back, if that gives Laura and consolation.
Mine leave for sleep away camp Sunday for a week! I'm going to eject them out of the sun roof. Is that wrong?
They have fun, don't miss me...maybe I am doing something wrong. :)
Hi, beautiful! That scrape looked much worse on my handheld screen. I could not even think of how to respond to the blog entry! I'm glad I came back on my desktop, because, honestly, zogm. Don't forget the zinc oxide.
Pursuant to yr post following: my kids are 20 months apart and laissez-faire has always been the name of our game. The book brings up some interesting things I once thought of blogging about before I decided no one really wanted to hear them. L8r! Hope you are feeling fiiiiine xox
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