The ebb and flow of the tides…

I feel on my heart, like the gravitational pull of a full moon.

Those early years with our children, side by side, are like two hearts knotted in a binding beat. Night and day our breath is shared. Learning, growing, getting to know the spirit that drives every conscious and unconscious thought.

As our children grow the knot stretches and pulls. As parents we grasp the tethered end, letting go gently, reluctantly at times. We do not want the ends to fray or the yarn to break. The thread is pulled taught and though we are increasingly apart on a physical level, we fight to keep the connection of that bonded knot strong.

It pains us to let you go, especially when at times our instincts cry, ‘No!’.

We trust your care to educators, teachers, doctors, nurses… often parents themselves. But, however caring and dedicated to their profession, no one can love you like we do. We know you like no other. We listen with keen ears to your every word. We see with open, receptive eyes your every creation.

At times we part, with tears in eyes. More often it is our eyes doing the crying! Be them tears of anguish or happy pride. We snatch hidden sobs, behind hats, hair and shades, in the comfort of the car outside the gates.

We say, ‘Be brave!’ – but to whom do we really say those words? We spend hours trying not to worry, but love is intertwined with woe. At times our heart strings are pulled painfully taught, only to spring back to a happy level of comfort in a flash of a smile on greeting once more.

Today my heart went out to my brave Sophie. I fretted about her at school all day. I needn’t have… she was all smiles when I picked her up, and so was her sister, Charlotte, too.

Today I was the ‘soft Mum’ hiding my tears as I walked to the car. I got home, made a coffee, had a little blub and felt much better (Alice insisted we sing some nursery rhymes – which naturally cheered me up a treat x).

I ended up having a lovely day. Alice and I visited the Botanical Gardens, fed the ducks, walked barefoot on the grass and smelled the last of the roses hanging on before winter’s cold steals their blooms till summer.

And this evening, I sat in the glow of the full moon, with my three dear children. We sat together in peaceful awe.

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Interesting links:

• Planets line up for ‘Black Friday’ – from ONE News, ‘For the first time in a hundred years Jupiter, Mars, Mercury and Venus have aligned in the morning sky.’
• Visit ‘Cottage Tails‘ for great information on natural living, gardening and working with the moon and the seasons.
• JOIN us at Catching the Magic for ‘Lyrical Sunday’ on Sunday 22 May – the theme this week is ‘Full Moon‘!