Coping strategies

Isn't it strange how we spend 18 years teaching our kids to be independent, encouraging them to do things for themselves and have their own opinions - then you suddenly realise that you have succeeded and they don't need you to do things for them any more.
Sending a child off to uni is a tough thing to do. You know that it is a great opportunity for them, and a life changing experience. But it's so hard to know that if a problem arises, they are a long way from home. I think the way most mums cope with it is to go into extreme 'Mother Hen' mode, making lists of things they need to take, buying those things, checking all the correspondence to make sure they have EVERYTHING sorted in advance and trying to anticipate every little thing they may come up against. We need to know that we have done all we can. It won't bother them if they have to go out and buy a can opener when they get there because it got left off a list but it will matter to us!
You would think that 2nd time around it would be easier - it isn't! When our daughter went to uni 4 years ago I don't think any of us realised what it would be like and there were certainly a lot of ups and downs in that time! We missed her so much, and there were times when she was homesick too. Times when problems occurred and we felt so helpless 150 miles away. But she sorted them and dealt with them and became stronger along the way.
So now it is time for our son to go and our house is becoming full of boxes of 'things'. Things for bedrooms, things for kitchen, things for the course ... So long as I keep busy, remembering to gather together these things, I am still doing my 'mum' job. But I know that on 20 September, when we wave goodbye and start that long drive home from dropping him off, it will feel like a little bit of me has been left behind.
One good thing about 2nd time around is that you have the benefit of experience, knowing that by teaching them independence you have given them the basic tools of looking after themselves. They will cope, they will deal with whatever life throws at them, they will have fun. It is so lovely to have our daughter home again and being a 'hands on' mum again and that makes it easier for when our son goes, but I'm still dreading that long drive home in September!

Scrapped my day!

I can see I am going to have to plan to do more exciting things on the 25th of each month (December shouldn't be a problem!) as I have very little to show for the 25th August!


It had been my daughter's 22nd birthday the day before and I had catered for 12 of her friends before they all went out to a club so I was kind of tired anyway. So add to that a phone call at 2am on Sunday - "Mum, we're just waiting for the taxi and we're STARVING, can you stick some chicken dippers in the oven for when we get home?" Did she realise what the time was?! Or guessed that as she was up and having fun, then the rest of the world must be too! I am not good without sleep so I was tired for my scrapping day, and it seemed that I spent most of it tidying up the house and eating leftovers, before a quiet night in front of the tv.
This was also the day that my son returned from the Reading Festival. 4 days of non stop music, trampling through mud, and camping in a tent. He returned, crumpled, tired, dirty, in need of a shower and hungry! My photos reflect the kind of 'day after the night before' feeling, balloons, half eaten cakes and bits of sequin confetti that decorated the table.

Finished My Freedom

Didn't I say I would get this finished before September 1st?!

I've been out for lunch today at Pizza Express with 3 friends, and came home with an hour or so to spare, so here it is, my final layout. Looking over the project pages, I realise that I still would like to go back and add a few embellishments here and there but on the whole it is complete! I struggled to think of a picture to put on the Reflection page, and ended up doing a 'cheesy' one with a play on the word, my reflection of me taking a picture of myself in a mirror and purely by chance the lens ended up looking like another eye! I had seen the technique of printing onto vellum paper on someone elses blog and liked the idea of doing that as an journaling overlay so decided to experiment there. I had also learnt how to hand tie little bows at a card making afternoon at Karen's Kards in Ware so although they were fiddly I made a few of them to go on this page as well.

So with new ideas and learning new techniques I am more than ready to get going on the next course - roll on September!

Running out of excuses

And I still haven't done that layout! But in my defense - it has been a busy bank holiday!
It was my daughter's birthday on Sunday and she had a dozen friends over in the afternoon and evening before they went out to a club, and I was busy cooking for them. Then Monday was spent just relaxing and tidying up. Not to mention eating up the chocolate birthday cake ;-) My son returned from Reading Festival - very hungry and grubby but he had a great time.
I had decided to start the scrap my day project this month, so took a few pictures and I think I have an idea of what to do but as it was a bit of a 'chill out' day, there isn't much to show for it!
Hopefully I will have something to post soon .....

wrapping not scrapping

And my excuse for not doing that final page layout today is ... I have been busy getting ready for my daughter's birthday on Sunday. We hold birthdays as very special in our house and there still have to be surprises and routines to be followed even though the 'kids' are 22 and 18! When my mum was alive she always used to give little hints as to what was inside the present on the gift tags, not enough to give away what was inside but you had to stop, think and guess before you opened the present. Mum's imagination often meant that we were in tears of laughter after opening the gift as the clue was so cryptic it didn't seem to match the gift. Even though my mum died 10 years ago, I still carry on this family tradition and so wrapping presents seems to take so long, but it's good fun and I know she would be laughing alongside if she could see how devious my imagination has become!
I am still aiming to finish My Freedom by the end of next week .... honest!

Busy days

I can't believe where the days are going at the moment - all I know is that the long school summer holiday doesn't seem that long this year. There's lots to do and lots to buy in preparation for our son going to university and every post brings more forms to complete etc. He's very excited and more than ready to live an independent life away from home. But at the moment he's more interested in going to the Reading Festival tomorrow!
Our daughter has started her first job in London and seems to be enjoying it so far. The 9 - 5.30 working day is a bit of a shock to the system after university days but she appears to be coping even though she is very tired in the evenings. Looking forward to her birthday at the weekend. Surely I'm too young to have a 22 year old 'child'?!
I have promised myself that I will finish the My Freedom pages before the new project starts in September and I am now well on the way to finishing my 'Reflection' layouts. All I need now is a photo to add. I was hoping to draw inspiration from other people's blogs, but it seems no one has done this one yet. Maybe we are all waiting for each other! Or maybe we are all suffering from Scrapbook Block? Hopefully there will be the opportunity to get it done over the Bank Holiday weekend ...

title page

It's been an eventful kind of a day here today. My son has passed his A levels and has been offered a place at University of Sheffield to study Politics so my baby is leaving home! Just as my other 'chick' had graduated and returned to the nest. I feel so happy for him as he embarks on this next exciting chapter of his life, but I know I will miss him so much.

But, in the midst of all that, and the bathroom renovations being finished, I have done my title page. It's pretty simple - just me!