Phew! What a long and challenging Easter holiday we have had. My youngest daughter has found the past two weeks quite difficult emotionally. We ended the school term with some very sad news about the death of one of our daughter’s friends from the year below. She was only four and I don’t know the family, so I won’t elaborate. My five-year-old daughter was devastated, and throughout the Easter holiday we have talked about her friend, prayed for her, and remembered her.

In other news, during the first week of our Easter holiday, my in-laws moved house, and they now live around the corner from us, just a short walk away. It used to be a thirty-mile drive to visit them, so now we have a whole new adjustment to our lifestyle. I am hoping to make use of some willing babysitters, once they have settled in… And, finally, on Easter weekend, my sister-in-law married her partner. It was a fabulous wedding, with scorching sunshine for the outdoor ceremony, and many happy memories made. My youngest daughter had been so excited for the wedding that she could barely contain herself. She has flipped from enthusiastic glee to shrieking tantrums almost every day in the run-up to the wedding. It was hard work, and quite an eye-opening experience for me as a parent.

But what of our older daughter, you might ask? Well, she is now eight years old and entering the “tween” years. She is growing up and maturing fast. She took everything that happened in her stride, happily going with the flow and playing with her beloved Lego at every opportunity. During this holiday I have watched my daughter growing up, and I feel both sad and happy for her development. Not yet a teenager, no longer an infant. She attended an event at our local library with her little sister. It was themed around the book We’re Going on a Bear Hunt. She was just a little too old for it as we discovered, since the other children in attendance were either pre-schoolers or five-year-olds. She soon perked up when the children were given a lump of slime each, however! Yes, it has been an odd sort of holiday, all things considered. We will be glad to get back in the school routine and enjoy our summer term.

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