Not being ourselves

Today Davies and Scarlett were signed up for a workshop at the most excellent Making Space. It’s not that nearby, a good hours drive but is reasonably priced with enthusiastic, friendly staff who really put on a good event so is worth the travelling for occassional events. We would have had to leave well before 9am for the 10am start time so when Ady was able to plan his day to take us with him we decided the slightly earlier start was worth it and were all up at 7am and out of the house by about 730am.

We passed Frazer on his way to work and all got a glimpse of Cat, his new girlfriend. We were all very sensible while talking to them through opened car windows but as soon as we’d driven off we all burst into a chorus of ‘Frazer’s got a girlfriend!’ – reminded me of that bit in Notting Hill when the door closes behind Hugh Grant and Julia Roberts and everyone screams 😆

We visited a couple of stores on the way and then dropped the kids off at 10am for their workshop. It was NZ Maori inspired pendant making using carved cuttlefish moulds to cast pewter. They were greeted with recognition from last time and didn’t bat an eyelid at me saying goodbye and heading off 🙂 .

I did a couple more store visits with Ady before it was time to collect Davies and Scarlett. They had had a great time planning their designs, carving them and then pouring liquid pewter in and waiting for it to set. Davies had made a dragon standing on a rock and Scarlett had made a dolphin. Both are excellent and I’ll get some pictures of them tomorrow in daylight.

Ady had to meet up with his boss so he dropped us off in Havant while he went off to do that. We walked through the town and looked in some charity shops but it was crazily busy and lunchtime so we took a vote and McDonalds was decided on. I was reluctant but went with it and they found seats while I queued up and got lunch for us. It was really packed in there and filled with people looking quite terrified at the prospect of another five weeks with their kids. We sat and ate and chatted and I was really grateful that this isn’t my life normally – getting up early and dropping them off somewhere else, sitting in a packed fast food joint and trying to think of how to kill the next hour. Roll on September 😉 .

We left there and had another roam through the town before deciding to brave the nearby park. Davies and Scarlett ignored the playgroundy bit heading for the skate park instead. This was filled with boys, probably of their own age or a bit older all running up the ramps and slopes. I stood a way away to observe and watched as Davies failed totally to clamber up and got pushed down by a littler boy while Scarlett managed to get cheered on by some of the other lads and pulled up while being offered advise and then managed to do it herself. One boy was nice to Davies although I did hear him ask ‘so are you a boy or a girl then?’ and showed him a different way to clamber up which Scarlett had a go at and couldn’t manage. She was full of ‘Davies could do it one way I couldn’t do and I could do it one way Davies couldn’t’. Scarlett hates it when Davies doesn’t manage to do something she can, it really upsets her for him to fail, almost more than if she fails herself. Davies did fall and bravado meant he didn’t show he was hurt until later but I think he was quite dented by the whole thing. I was really proud of both of them for sticking together and sticking it out though.

We left when Ady rang to say he was on his way and I asked Davies if the other kids had been nice. He said sort of sadly ‘no, but they never are, are they?’ and expanded on this when I asked by saying that most schooled children were mean straightaway as a default. he did cite some exceptions but said that most Home Ed kids are friendly to strangers and most schooled kids are the opposite. I’m not sure if he has a skewed view or if this is true but it has to be said he certainly is pretty popular in HE circles we mix in and yet never quite manages to break through in schooled ones so it is definitely accurate of his own experiences. I think 10ish is the age of most not wanting to be different for most kids whereas he is at the age where he is most proud of being different so I suppose this was always likely to be a tricky time. I understand why a lot of HE kids choose this period to think about school though, the stepping away from your family and wanting to belong elsewhere must be some sort of natural urge. I think both Davies and Scarlett are secure enough in who they are, coupled with a fairly strong genetic ‘sod you!’ attitude to anyone who takes against them and plenty of friends locally and nationally, for that not to happen here, but of course you never know.

Ady picked us up and he had to visit a Morrisons and the nearest one was the Mythical one on the A3. Scarlett actually recognised it when we pulled up and said ‘this is Mythical Morrisons!’ which meant she had to explain the whole story to Davies who seemed not to have registered it last year. Being so close to the Sustainability Centre by then we thought we’d call in so drove there and had a very lovely hour walking round the campsite, down to Sue’s bench and through the first part of the woods, back to the pond and past the centre. We found a toad and saw a huge dragonfly along with Sean who runs the Campcraft stuff and hailed us as we walked by. Looking forward to being there for a whole week next month :).

Away again via just one more store, to my parents where we had to drop off some paperwork and arrange some childcare help for later in the week and how to celebrate Dad’s birthday with him on Friday. All done, along with a cup of tea and a chat and then home.

I read a couple more chapters of Why the Whales came while D&S ate dinner before a not particularly early to bed but certainly earlier to sleep night for them.