Greetings all,
Mothers of more than one child either struggle to find time or schedule dedicated time to spend with each child one on one. My children have been known to book an appointment with me (imagine my evenings with 4 children & a husband away) just to hang out, chat, plan or do something special, like French plaiting their hair. I could be accused of keeping the odd child home from school, just to hang out, i call them 'family mental health days' & write that on the absentee note too. I'm have written "teenager with bad attitude" on a late notes for school, the office staff love my honestly & all have teen daughters too, they understand . . . we're a club, a club i refused to go into dreading, this mother-of-teenager-dome, it doesn't have to be 'doom'. It's going to happen, may as well hope for the best - that my teen daughters will still love me - even though i'm ruining their lives with boundaries.
My darling first born daughter just returned from a sleepover at her school friend's vineyard, tough life for some. She might be in year 8 & in that awkward age stage - to act cool & aloof - but she still laughed when we showed her the 'bum' apple we found in the fruit bowl while she was away.
I have often planned to have pedicures in Summer, then i will stub my toe barefoot outdoors or ruin a nail = pedi-cancel. In the Wintery cocoon of ugg boots & thick socks, my nails were in great condition so i told my teen "we're getting a pedicure & with those lovely fingernails, can have a manicure too." My husband took 3 children to see Brave, using the free double pass from Blogopolis thanks & we went to our 'mani pedi sesh' (teen speak.)
Channelling Faux Fuchsia, i looked under the O.P.I. bottle of polish to see what clever-named-red colour i had chosen . . . wait for it . . . O.P.I. "Red". Ok, those creative Dutch, not!! I was too polite to check the label on my daughter's bottle, she's going to a Friday the 13th party, so picked this black/ blue/ purple dazzling colour. She's already chipped a nail at the vineyard & was too embarrassed for me to photograph her 9/10 perfect talons. I love that she's sporty & girlie. My husband dropped her off at the movies (first part of the vineyard stay over) & apparently all the 'beautiful' girls (wearing full make up) were swooning over her saying "oh, my mum's never taken me to a manicure before, you're so lucky." Score!!
We've found another fun thing to do together (after saving some pennies) with a little warning for new players . . . those manicure seats are also massage chairs!! I was absolutely pummelled, just as my daughter looked at my violently-vibrating-body & was about to laugh at me . . . she started getting punched in the back too. She whispered to me "i think my massage chair is set to 'angry' mum" & now we have another in-joke, just between us, along with all the knots in our backs beaten out. I love being in the moment during experiences like this, thinking of all the dedicated time it's taken to raise a child this far, a little pamper indulgence goes a long way, even better, together. Love Posie
