Monday, November 07, 2011

Tunnels and Light

Yesterday was hot.  HOT!  Truly.  So we headed off for an adventure, driving to Bundeena and the local beach there to check it out.  We had a lovely day, full of crashing waves and kamikaze boys, sand construction and excited girls.  We explored rockpools, smashed into waves, ate sandy dips (mmm...extra crunch), became intimate with lorikeets, lost a clog and listened to Bowie.
But do you know what we loved about yesterday?  It was the light at the end of the tunnel. I take raising adults for this world as quite a serious responsibility.  I'm not serious with them but I am serious about them.  I read.  I watch.  I listen.  They teach me.  I guide them.  I scream.  They cry.  I cry.  We all stay up late.  We all wake up in the middle of the night.  We get angry.  We laugh.  We hug.  We storm off.

It. Is. Hard.

Parenting seems really easy the way some people do it.  But I'll tell you something for nothing - the way we parent is not easy.  It's involved and wonderful and beautiful and exhausting all at once.  But this weekend just gone...this weekend we saw it.  The light at the end of the tunnel.  The children (mostly) played beautifully together.  Harriet was (mostly) patient.  Teddy (mostly) listened. We (briefly) got the chance to talk about the world, about life, about films, about *stuff*.  It's happening.  We're slowly coming together as a group of people who live together, are a family together, but as people where we can all take on rolling roles and not require the watchful parenting eye.

It was so much fun.  I love us.

4 comments:

jayb said...

oh so beautiful. yes it is hard to parent the way we parent, but as i was explaining to someone recently we are doing it to raise awesome humans. it is so wonderful when you get moments where everything feels so right, it is so exciting for the future. go team! love you lot heaps.

Kimba said...

Oh I love those little moments of clarity, when everything is flowing nicely and I remember why I do things the way I do. It inspires me to try to do better by the people I love, and it inspires me to feel grateful for the times I have done well already.

Lou said...

you know, I think you'll be seeing more and more of that light at the end of the tunnel. What a wonderful time in your lives huh? Such a beautiful post Cass.

Selene said...

I love seeing that light! And love the beach shot, so exuberant!