Week in the life | Thursday

Smartly dressed in her school uniform, my eldest daughter appeared in the kitchen, ready to start the new school term.  She had an enthusiastic smile and look of eagerness. Dan and I looked at her with pride and soft hearts of love and admiration.

She sat up to have breakfast next to her father, talking about this terms topic of ‘Energy’ and how much she was looking forward to it.  He opened up an app on the iPad (Our Choice: A Plan to Solve the Climate Crisis – by Al Gore) and then started blowing air across the screen.

“What’s that you’re doing?” I asked, amused at the pair of them blowing air on the iPad – a new gadget that I’m still in awe of.

“I’m blowing a wind turbine to power up the electricity in a house,” my husband replied.

“Of course you are dear…” I thought – smiling with acceptance – mingled with a feeling of age catching up on me. When I was a girl I thought the newspaper being delivered through the letter box every morning was marvellous and owning a set of Encyclopedia was the bees knees!

Charlotte was impressed with the demonstration and suggested her Daddy should come and give a presentation to her class (but perhaps put on shirt on… he was sat with a bare-chest, hee, hee). Then we started laughing that Charlotte could demonstrate static energy, by rubbing a balloon on his chest hairs (now there’s a thought!).

Unfortunately there was no time to test the balloon experiment after breakfast. By 8am my oldest daughter and husband were out the door, en-route to school and work, jamming along to music in the car.

Now it was time for me to get on with entertaining my pre-schooler, cheeky, chatty two year-old, Alice, clearing the decks from breakfast and motivating my home-schooler, and middle daughter, to start her studies for the day.

Sophie has started to read a wonderful series of books by Amber Castle called ‘The Spell Sisters‘. We took it in turns to finish the first book, reading a paragraph at a time, whilst Alice jumped around talking to teddy bears. Then I suggested Sophie wrote a ‘book report’, which she was pleasingly enthusiastic to do (she’s not always that eager – writing is the one activity I have to work really hard to motivate her to do!). Anyway, she sat down and worked carefully with great focus and attention to detail. She has no problem in reading, comprehending, retelling and expressing herself – but isn’t a natural lover of writing – preferring to use her exceptional oral skills!

Today, she focused on forming her letters properly and neatly. She came up with adjectives to describe the main character of the book and we talked about the setting of the book being in England. She wrote a nice little summary of the story (I wish I’d recorded her telling the story, as she summarized it with brilliant oral skill and presentation). We talked of the King Arthur legends and I showed her a couple of history books I have on the subject. She was particularly fascinated when I told her I’d worked at ‘The Castle’ in Winchester, where the ‘Round table‘ is hung on a wall of ‘The Great Hall‘ and was the venue for events I organised there. The first and finest of  all 13th century halls of medieval England.

After a morning’s work, we took a break for late morning tea and a small reward.

The afternoon was extremely chilled. Alice had a nap and I felt so exhausted that I had one too. Sophie was happy to amuse herself on the computer and watching some television.

Dan and Charlotte returned home early for a change – around 4pm (he had a tennis lesson at a club next to her school). They arrived home to kitchen bowls and utensils scattered along the hallway (Sophie and Charlotte had been on an expedition into space…).

They took their horses with them on their adventure…

Dan then nipped away to the study to finish his work for the day, whilst Charlotte relaxed and had a think about how she’d like to celebrate her upcoming 9th Birthday (which is nine weeks away!). She’s decided a ‘movie’ -[‘Brave‘ is released just before her Birthday] with friends and pizza, at Heaven Pizza, afterwards. I’m relieved I shan’t have to entertain at home this year (I get myself into quite a state with all the preparations and entertaining!).

The rest of the evening was ho hum – dinner – a film for the big girls (Catch That Kid, 2004), a bath for me and Alice, a game of flood-lit soccer for Dan (instead of a game on Saturday this week – so we’re all free for a planned meet up with old friends instead). The girls finally got off to sleep around 9pm. Sophie started to read the second Spell Sisters book, whilst I lay with Alice listening to a beautiful guided meditation from Orange Orb.

I didn’t get too far into the meditation – but enough to feel calm and relaxed – as Sophie was keen for me to read a little of her book with her, once Alice had succumbed to sleep.

Dan arrived home from soccer soon after the girls had finally all gone to sleep (he won 3-0).

Now I’m chilling, reflecting on the day and listening to the amazing sounds of this very talented young man. I first heard him busking on Cuba Street (saving for his travels). I hope he goes far, he really deserves too. Absolutely amazing – he really did stop passers by in their tracks with awe.

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