News and Blog

Have you ever felt your kids are growing up just that bit too fast? You spend your life wishing they were past the current stage and on to the next one and then suddenly it hits you like a brick…It won’t be long before it’s un-cool to be seen with mum getting dropped off, or they don’t actually WANT to come home from camp at all.  I thought of all this before of course.  Who doesn’t? But this summer it has really hit home enough to shake me up and make me a little teary to think how fast life is passing.

The oldest is now 12 and was asked to go to Wings 2009 in Windsor Great Park. An International Scout and Guide jamboree, this event is only held every 5 years.  Of course he wanted to go but all his friends the same age dropped out worried about being so far from home (Scotland) for a whole week and camping out with so may other people. 5000 kids attended from all over the world, as far as Australia and New Zealand, US and Canada.  He doesn’t keep well at times so kitted out with kilt and a sporran full of medication off he went on the 5am bus to London with a roudy bunch of teenagers. 

Kit was all labelled too – like a good mummy with a label business, no excuses!  Stikins stick on clothing labels for the sporran and belt, press and click name tags on his hose (socks for the non-Scottish out there) and flashes (flippy bits that keep the socks up), and stikins stick on clothing labels on everything else clothing related.  Also ironed some easy to use iron on name tags onto his neckies and tops, and topped off with some personalised bag tags on his rucksack and sleeping bag, with small vinyl labels on the water bottle and roll mat.  All kitted out! Nothing could get lost, and nothing did either!  That at least was a huge success.  But back the emotional thing…

We had 5 phone calls the first day to say “reached Birmingham”, “left Birmingham”, “still driving”, “still driving and the TV doesn’t even work”, “still driving”, and then the next morning “got here ok and its fine”.  FINE?  What does FINE mean?   Has he slept well, eaten well, done a number 2, had a fight with anyone, had a sore tummy, lost his kit, been crying, whatever????  No, just “fine”.  Then being told not too phone too much, as in “don’t phone 5 times a day you only have £10 on that phone” he didn’t ring again for another 3 days.  We tried to phone and text. No success.  No phone calls from the Scout leaders so must be fine we guessed.

Finally on the second last day he phone to say “blur blur blur, got a broken collar bone, great fun, got to go”….A broken collar bone!!!!  What?  Who? Where? When?  How?  Finally next call clarified that.  SOMEONE had a broken collar bone but he had 2 Canadian girls’ email addresses.  Oh, must clarify that. Hates girls but has been playing a Canadian ball game with some of them and they GAVE him their email addresses but he has conveniently lost those.  Also been to 3 badge swapping sessions and a few concerts and done archery. Having a good time. Will see us Saturday night late.

Then a Scout leader emailed us a link to the Wings 2009 website to see the videos they had been taking of all the kids at the event for the week on a day by day basis. Of course we couldn’t see any of the Scottish kids in it but could see the type of things they had been doing all week, the wild no-alcohol concerts, the outdoor activities, tents, etc.  It was such a teary experience to think my wee boy was down there doing all that stuff I did as a teenager.  What a shock! It completely floored me! 

So, now he is finally back home he admitted he didn’t want to come home but not because he didn’t like it at home.  Just because it was so much fun.  He wanted to come home for the cooking…yes, even though it’s sometimes burnt!  Maybe he really did miss us after all. And mum now realises, that like it or not, eventually we just have to let go and let them live.