The Rites of Spring

So here we are in October, which for Australians signals the start of spring. The children are on two weeks school holidays, and after the hottest September for 150 years, we were expecting to spend it on the beach. The first week, however, passed in a blur of winter temperatures, rain and greyness. All George's mates were away, and he spent most of his time moping in his pyjamas, in the way only a child on the cusp of teenagerdom can, making short trips between the tv, the X-Box and the computer, occasionally mumbling about the unfairness of it all.

This week, the sun is back out, and although not exactly beach weather to my mind (although when I walked the dog from South Curl Curl beach to Freshwater this morning there were plenty of people soaking up the rays, so maybe I'm being too picky!), it looks and feels a lot brighter. George's mates are back, and Anna, as always, has plenty to do, with a couple of days at Sydney Dance Company this week, and three days of dancing at her dance school over next weekend.

Last weekend, we had the excitement of going to watch the opening ceremony for the World Master's Games at the Olympic Stadium. If you haven't heard of this event, you should have, as it's bigger than the Olympics - the largest multi sport, multi nation sporting event in the world. This year they had nearly 29000 competitors - and I ought to know because I watched them all march into the Stadium! Anna's school choir joined with other Public School choral groups to create a megachoir of 500 voices to sing the National Anthem and another song called Dare to Dream during the massive opening ceremony which also featured a rock concert (well - Leo Sayer...) and fireworks. It was a great evening, and we couldn't help thinking how amazing it was that now Anna has sung in the Opera House, and in the Olympic Stadium to an audience of about 40000! Where next? Carnegie Hall? Time Square? Wembley??!

In the UK, I used to hate the school holidays. I think my sister put it best when she put as her status this summer - 'and here beginneth the childcare disaster formerly known as the school holidays'. The holidays meant an even more complex juggling act than normal of childcare versus work, which inevitably left the children feeling let down, and made me feel like a terrible parent. Working from home was far from being the answer, as clients on the whole did not recognise my childcare issue, and probably (although no one ever said this to me directly) wondered what all the screaming was in the background. On one memorable occasion, a phone call to a client was interrupted by a group of children bursting into my office shouting in horror - 'Mummy! Charlie is sexing Nancy!'. Explaining that Nancy was Anna's little friend, and Charlie was a border collie didn't really make things any better (but somehow was easier than explaining the bruises on Nancy to her mother when she came to pick her up...). Having an au pair didn't always help either, as children are a bit like clients in that when things are going pear shaped they want to see the person with the highest authority - you.

As a result, I viewed school holidays as something of a trial, and watched their arrival with dread. The children felt like something that had to be organised, like everything else, and fitted onto the spreadsheet I produced every week to let everyone know what the week ahead held - not like something to be enjoyed and cherished.

These days, however, I can't wait for them to start. No more school runs, no more rushing round to basketball, dancing, choir, netball, drama etc etc. Well, not so much. And the days are longer - everything doesn't have to stop at 2.30pm in order to ensure that you are around when they get home from school. And best of all, you get to spend some quality time with your children, instead of simply providing a chauffeuring service to them. It's bliss! I'm even disappointed when the term starts again, and counting the weeks till the next holiday. Who would have thought it? And these days George and Anna are such good company. We have a great time together. Don't get me wrong.....there are conflicts (for example about the number of days it is reasonable not to get out of your pjs....), but now we can watch movies together that don't bore me to tears, we can recommend books to one another, we can have a laugh. I regret that I wasn't around more when they were smaller, so that I could have enjoyed that as well, instead of always feeling so conflicted by all the different responsibilities I had, but what's done is done, and I'm seizing the day while I still can.

So - the best thing to come of changing our life and moving to Australia?

The opportunity to fall in love with my children all over again.....