Last night we had our family Sunday dinner thing, that I have insisted upon since the midyear holidays. I was away at Loch Sport and I did a tonne of reading in the Personal Growth category. I took a few podcasts and generally had a big revision of my life, as I am inclined to do fairly regularly, anyway, the big thing, that I felt I was unhappy about was the lack of time I spend with my kids. I know it is natural for them to be out and about being teenagers, but I missed them. I already have to share them with their dad and now with their friends and part-time jobs added to that, it seemed I was just squeezing in the occasional nag about the mess in their rooms.
So whilst I was away I decided that I would back off with the nagging and let go of expected them to be home all the time, but in exchange for that they would both have to promise to be home for dinner on Sunday nights. We would eat together, at the dinner table, a good meal and catch up. I love Sunday nights now. Previously they had simply been a last clutch of the weekend, but now I plan a great meal, we set the table and enjoy each others company.
After dinner we sometimes watch a movie and once we played the DVD game my brother gave us for Christmas last year. It was great fun. Anyway, I’m sure you can see where this is heading.. Last night I forced them to watch ‘The Secret’. They all complained and doubted and thought they would end up having to buy something. Afterwards, they all said they enjoyed it and that it was good. Regardless of their experience of it, I enjoyed it a lot more watching it for the second time. I noticed a few more things and I think I will watch it regularly to remind myself. Thoughts are Things.
Ballarat Wedding
I spent the weekend in Ballarat. My brother was married on Friday there and we spent the weekend, since we were there. It was a great family occasion. I feel pretty blessed by my large extended family. I was chatting to my cousin and a brother at one stage of the night and we all agreed we were pretty lucky in the family department. Our family gets together and has a good time. The wedding was very beautiful and I was proud of my brother and his wife and the way they expressed their committment to each other with such love and pleasure.
I haven’t been to Ballarat for a long time. In fact I think it was an excursion when I was doing my HSC (contemporary VCE or Year 12). I don’t remember much about my previous visits and I enjoyed seeing Ballarat now. It had a spacious and gracious feel to it. The old houses are distinctive and individual and the streets are wide.
We enjoyed the place we stayed at and visited the Botanical Gardens on the Sunday before heading home. I will put some video’s up on revver. I took mainly videos of the sculptures in the park.
Families feature in Latest YA reads
I finished reading Chasing Charlie Duskinby Cath Crowley last night. I enjoyed it thoroughly. I like her voice. It is real. She captures the anguish of teenagers well and their realities and realisations, without making it too ‘adult’. It was also about grief and the loss of a parent as with Will by Maria Boyd. I loved her Gracie Faltrain character and recommend The Life and Times of Gracie Faltrain. Cath Crowley went to our school so I am always recommending her books to our kids. They are highly recommended by the students.
Lost Property by James Moloney was another book that was an honour book for the Childrens Book Council awards and it was great. My son (16)has also read it and he loved it too. James Moloney is getting better and better. I still love teaching ‘A Bridge to Wisemans Cove’ to my year 8’s. I think Lost Property is definately as was ‘No Worries’ for older readers.
The thing I loved most about these two books is that they showed how important families are to young people. So often I hear that teenagers are only interested in their friends and that their families are no longer important to them. I know my own children spend a lot less time at home now they have become ‘teenagers’, but young people really value their families. I think that is the biggest lesson I have learnt or realisation I have had becoming a teacher.