It’s been a short term but has felt much longer; what with the merry go round of illnesses, a massive upheaval which has affected us all, the pressure of exams…. If we limped to half term we crawled to the end of term.
We all need some rest and restoration; but I’m aware the boys both have lots of study to do. I know my “petrol tank” is just about empty. I explain to the children that just as cars need petrol to run well, mums need time out to look after our families and juggle all the other multiple roles the modern Mum has. So, I pray and trust that our loving Heavenly Father would give each of us what we need over these next two weeks. And I’m so thankful to have this time altogether, with everyone, including HWH, at home. The girls and I decorated our home for Easter at the week end, and I put up the Easter banner I made last year, with the seven “I am” statements found in John’s gospel.
We’ve had a few more visits to medieval towns and buildings. The girls and I visited a town well known to us but looked at it with fresh eyes as Dancing Toes took photos for her project.
We delighted to discover an abandoned pigeon’s nest in an old window sill, and then noticed where the bird had found a better place to brood. We had fun meandering round the market and found the bookstall which sells one of Dancing Toes’ favourite book series. We treated ourselves to sausage rolls and hot drinks and sat on a bench watching the world go by. A precious start to the holidays.
The ice cream creation is our Palm Sunday sundae. The ice cream is crunchy, reminding us of the rocky road Jesus would have travelled along; the mint reminds us of the palm branches that were waved to welcome him into Jerusalem; the M&Ms are meant to resemble the coats strewn on the road, and we tried to make a donkey out of mini twirls! Just a bit of fun, but I find children often remember food related lessons.
We had a fun family movie night, watching Paddington 2. Our motley assortment of Paddington Bears was brought down for the occasion, we had popcorn, mini chocolate eggs and tiny marmalade sandwiches for the bears.
The following day we had buns and cocoa for our elevenses. It was a fab film…. good for children and adults of all ages. I’m always impressed by how my Catholic friends journey through Holy Week, including the agony of Good Friday. As a seemingly somewhat less strong willed non-conformist Protestant, I increasingly feel I need to enter into this walk-through week, not just skip form Palm Sunday to Easter Day. So, we are reading through a short devotional on the last sayings of Jesus, each night this week. We will have our usual Passover meal on Thursday. And I generally read through the events of Jesus’ last week each morning.
I always feel Easter is a time of new hope, a new season, and I love it. But, I wonder if Holy Week is a good time to acknowledge the tougher parts of our lives, while remaining thankful for the very many blessings. I know I have some hurts from the last couple of months I need to process, not bury, and this seems a good time to do just that. With the knowledge that the resurrection and all that brings is just round the corner.
Mothering through the seasons 