Transitions  . . .  

In our house, one of our favorite parts of the summer holidays is buying all the school supplies ready for the coming year. It is  like starting afresh, a clean piece of paper. It is part of getting ourselves mentally ready for another phase.

This year, we have a long long list, as Tina starts secondary school. Not just one clean piece of paper, but several packets worth! There is the possibility at Tina's new school of just paying your 40 euros and picking up a ready package just before the start of term - but where's the fun in that? I think we need the "pen panic" and search for the perfect homework journal to help us get our heads around what's coming up!

However, you can't handle every transition by ticking off items on a shopping list. I've written an article about transition (it is only the beginning here, I invite you to click through to finish it if you are interested!).

What is a transition?

A transition is the process of change from one state or situation to another, and by its nature, a transition involves a movement or shift in one or more parts of our lives. As adults, transitions we experience might include a change of relationship, a relocation, promotion, becoming a parent, retirement, or the death of someone close to us, and much more besides.

Of course, through our everyday experiences, we can grow and develop, but often it is the transitions in our lives that provide the greatest contribution to our ongoing journey of personal development and the opportunity for step change in our insights and experience. We don't always see it this way at the time though.

Whatever is changing, we all experience these transitions in our lives in our own unique way, and each transition can feel different and often difficult. On our life journey, transitions are periods where we may feel we travel alone - so personal is our own experience. It is often only in retrospect that we are able to appreciate that a valuable shift, a transformation, has occurred.

As Mums, we have the additional challenges of witnessing and being affected by the many and varied transitions of our children, which often leads us to have to bring about our own changes too as the dynamic shifts. Several key periods of change occur in our child's development on their journey towards adulthood, and it can be stressful for the child and the family as these changes take place.

To read the rest of the article, please follow this link . . . full transition article

Being out of routine can be special. Who remembers "everyday"? We all remember "special occasions".

Holidays can be special in so  many ways, and you don't have to go anywhere else to achieve that holiday feeling. Just having breakfast in bed, or a picnic in your own garden, or a pajama day can feel like a total break. You might just tootle down the road for an outdoor swim, or potter round the park with no time limit. Making something that happens everyday that little bit special can make for a memorable occasion.

If you are away on holiday, make it special. It's a shared experience. It's a holiday of a lifetime. It's a complete break. It's a fantastic place to be. Whatever it is, build it up, and make the most of it. Celebrate it afterwards too, with photos, video, postcards, letters, memories. 

If you are at home, why not do something silly. Hold your own "summer camp" with themed activities (these don't have to be elaborate, just capture your children's imagination). Dress up 80s style for the day. Cunningly disguise jobs around the house as something that sounds (and feels) like fun. Turn a walk into a treasure hunt (check out www.naturedetectives.org.uk  for some great ideas and resources).

If you're working during the day, you could plan something to do in the evening that wouldn't totally exhaust you but would feel fun to you and the kids non-the-less. An evening swim. A BBQ somewhere different. An open air concert.

Make your kids laugh. With you, or at you. Whichever! Have a good giggle yourself. Release all that term time tension in a good belly laugh or two. A good dose of hysterical laughter can work wonders, especially when things in general aren't feeling too funny. Hunt down those people, physically or virtually, who have the power to have you rolling on the floor and nearly wetting your knickers. Let your kids make you laugh too.

This year, I challenge you to not take summer too seriously! Don't turn it into a challenge. I'm sure that what our kids really want is some real connection with us, the chance to be the tiniest bit bored, and a little bit of excitement, however you decide to create this.

Oh, and I think they like to have a little choice too. Which brings me neatly back to the school shopping list and the Pen Panic that will occupy most of my summer holidays!!