Farewell to summer (Blog Circle)

Our monthly blog circle is here again and some of my blog circle friends have decided to dedicate this post as a farewell to summer.   As it is the 1st September this seems quite relevant.  Meteorologically speaking summer has ended in the UK and we are officially now in Autumn.  I have mixed feelings as it isn’t just the environment around me that is changing.  We have a definite shift in our household this month as my first child is set to move to secondary school this week. I seem to have blinked and we are here, it is time for him to grow up, begin to venture into the world alone, stand on his own two feet. Despite internally dreading this transition, in moments of objectivity I can see how natural this is, how the the years before have been a natural precursor to this, readying him.  However time is insidious, it creeps up on us and it is sometimes hard to be objective. The child who was able to cling to my little finger with his whole hand is still there with me.  The child who loved dinosaurs, who would spend car journeys counting trucks and tractors,  the sweet gentle boy who still isn’t embarrassed to give me a hug and a kiss before walking into school.

In selfish moments I wish I could pause life, keep him with me, make him stay like this forever, protect him … but I can also sometimes see glimpses of the person he will be and I feel such pride, such happiness that he is in my life.  I know he needs to move on, that to grow as a person he needs to experience failure, make his own mistakes, detach…. but it is hard, so very hard.

I hope the new world he is entering is kind to him, I hope he meets new friends who bring the best out of him, I hope he copes with all the changes he is about to encounter with good grace, I hope he will be happy but ultimately I hope that these inevitable winds of change don’t catch up with us too quickly…

 

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Please visit my friend Rebecca’s blog to see her take on happiness this month.

6 comments
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  • Kirsten WollschlagerSeptember 2, 2014 - 7:03 pm

    Louise, your writing always hits me square in the heart. You are a mother who loves fiercely and it’s beautiful. I wish you all the best during this grand transition knowing your son will do famously in secondary school. Happy autumn!!! 😀ReplyCancel

  • RachelSeptember 2, 2014 - 8:07 pm

    Oh my goodness! How does time fly like this? I wish him all the best in secondary school 🙂ReplyCancel

  • JessicaSeptember 3, 2014 - 12:46 pm

    I agree with Kirsten – your writing is so lovely. As a mom of little ones, this post reminds me to hold them tight today and prepare my heart for the conflicted feelings of “tomorrow”… as much as I don’t want them to grow up, I am watching it happen way too fast!ReplyCancel

  • Rebecca SpencerSeptember 19, 2014 - 3:51 pm

    You made me cry! Such a beautifully written post you have such a way with words as well as photographs. I have every faith and confidence with you that you will steer your son through the challenges with much grace and skill, he is one lucky boy to have you as his Mum xx Looking forward to catching up in Lisbon later this month.ReplyCancel

  • AnaSeptember 21, 2014 - 9:13 am

    O wow Louise. You have such way with words and I can feel your pain/joy at these bittersweet times ahead. I would like to wish your not so little man all the very best in secondary school. That last photo is so very fitting to your words and I now have to move onto another blog before I start crying. Time flies, so let’s enjoy the moments when they still show they are children and not so grown up.ReplyCancel

  • AnnaOctober 9, 2014 - 5:37 pm

    It’s so beautiful to read through your words that you are so incredibly proud about him. Time, indeed, flies. But as far as I know you he will grow up as a nice young man.
    I agree with what the other girls said. You are so good in writing. I am looking forward to your next post. XReplyCancel