September always reminds me of the excitement surrounding a new school year, new pencil case, new classroom, new teacher and new uniform because you’d grown so much over the Summer!
Now that I have two small people of my own I see it through a different lens and made me think how as adults there is still room for a different kind of growth over the Summer period.
Over the Summer my husband and I braved taking our children on their first long haul flight. A distinct moment of personal growth for all of us as we navigated the ten hours of restriction in a small space and the pains of jet lag. ( No 3.45am is NOT a suitable waking up time!)
I watched as my seven year old children disappeared off in canoes on their own into a lake…an immense moment of personal freedom for them and a desperate moment of sweaty panic for me, all whilst smiling fixedly and waving at them. ( My husband and cousin assuring me that “that’s’ what life jackets are for “and that “your children can swim” and that if necessary they could be at the boats within seconds.)
As many people know I am terrified of heights…a fear I had to park in my back pocket as I accompanied my children on a treetop rope bridge walk in the Vancouver botanical gardens.
Determined not to pass any of my fears and limitations to my children I gritted my teeth and completed the walk, all whilst sweating profusely and trying hard not to panic halfway over each bridge…as my children bounced up and down merrily…
Our Summer holiday was also the opportunity to re-visit the site of my 2008 ski-ing accident. What I had anticipated to be a cathartic moment passed in a whisper of an anti-climax, and the obligatory Pilates Teaser.
So much change and growth happened over those two weeks in Canada, not just for my children but for all of us.
It’s true that travel broadens the mind and we grew in ourselves and in our relationships.
Now as I watch my children head off to school in their new uniforms, it makes me happy to know that they are growing physically and also into their own individual personalities, and I know that through being a part of their growth and development I am finding growth too.
NB I’m still not ready to wrestle a crocodile.
