Another version of 'liberty'

Last week they all went back to high school and uni ....

Pascal and I looked at each other Wednesday morning (after no. 3's departure) and felt .....

FREEDOM!

After 2 solid months of being 5 in the family, putting 2 meals on the table every day, seeing evidence of their constant presence all over the house (inspite of substantially sized bedrooms), fighting over who watches what on TV and turning off the TV during meal times, motivating speeches about helping because we live in community, proposals to change the daily diet of getting up late, lazing around, watching TV or computer screens, suggestions and outings, completing DIY chores .... Can't say that we were annoyed by constant music pounding away in different rooms, because youth today wears headphones. However, I found myself more than once either climbing the stairs to get their attention or sending SMS messages to communicate with them (thank God for unlimited texting!) because they couldn't hear us calling out!

So, a sense of liberty was our main feeling that Wednesday morning at 7:50 am .... Added to that, it's Pascal's day off! And we realized as well that it was our WEDDING ANNIVERSARY! 21 years together. where has the time gone??? In the rush to get everyone back to school we had forgotten this significant date.

"Let's go and have a coffee on the café terrace in the sun," suggested my husband. 

So our first morning of freedom was spent in the sun at a local café ..... checking our diaries together to make sure we had each other's activities noted! Because we are now teen-free during the week, but we've been back at work for a month already.

"Bonne rentrée!" as the French say.

* Good luck for the new school year

PS we also celebrate our wedding anniversary on 19th September which was the blessing at Syndal Baps church. Well, we'll see, because that's the day an Aussie couple arrives to spend 2 1/2 weeks with us ....

One happy family inspite of all I said above !

Spiders and liberty!

The French spider population is harmless and of a bearable size .... in general! Spiders are one thing I really don't miss from Australia. My ability to get close enough to a spider to kill it (still can't bear the thought of capturing it and putting it outside - it's the movement which gives me the shivers!) only developped along with my maternal instinct when my desire to protect my children became stronger than my aversion to spiders.

So imagine how grateful and proud I was to discover that no. 2 son (16 years old) had dealt with an uncommonly enormous spider just over our front door before his sister and I were due to go out cycling. He didn't even tell me it was there: he went down to check the tyres of the bikes, saw the beast and killed it right then and there! He even got rid of the body!

Wow! You know what my strongest feeling was after pride? FREEDOM! I had this amazing sense of FREEDOM! I no longer had to take on full responsibility for the well-being of my kids, nor think for them (well, let's not exaggerate - they are teenagers after all!), nor take initiatives, nor adapt my original plans to accommodate a changed situation. FREEDOM! to get my drink bottle and go downstairs and go cycling with my daughter! FREEDOM to be afraid of spiders and to let someone else deal with them.

Thank you, Lord, for accompanying us as parents and letting us see our kids grow into fine, young people.