September

I do love September, I'm not sure why; whether it's the new term, fresh start type of thing, or the autumn colours (I love autumn colours because they're so bright and invigorating), the misty mornings with the low level mist rising over the field and then the late hot mornings. Whatever the real reason that my soul leaps each September, I'm glad it does!

All the children are back to school now and I think they're doing okay. MB the elder has come home twice now with a smile on his face (and once without his school shoes *sigh*) and settled straight down to homework without even a murmur of disgruntlement; MB the younger seems to think that his new teacher is "alright once you get to know her", but seems a little teary about being in his last year at school (on day one...god help us by July!) and LMB was up and dressed and ready to go at 5.30am and 'loves' her new teacher and class and...and...and...(you get the picture!).

I am also post day one of my Montessori training and have come back somewhat overwhelmed by the amount of work there is involved. This year is a level four, which is year one of an undergraduate course, so it's hardly surprising. However, we have more exams and submissions than I did last year on the BSc! Still, it's fun, there seems to be a great group of women doing the course, I am only driving to Winchester one day a week, so I do have time to do the work and other things. It's no where near as intense or stressy on the family as the midwifery training was, so that is one huge relief. I can also commit myself to the canoe club and yoga on a weekly basis too and I know, from one week to the next, what I am doing - planning is back in my life again!

I do miss the midwifery, I haven't talked much about it on here. In an ideal world...or maybe I should say in a 'different' world as the one I have is pretty ideal thank you very much. In a different world I would live closer so I wasn't driving 400 miles a week, I would be somewhere where students are not walked on or spoken to as if they are something on the bottom of someone's shoe with an IQ of 2, where I could survive on around 4 hours sleep in a 72 hour period and where my husband worked at home all the time rather than in Tanzania, Ethiopia, Russia, Nigeria, or the US! and in a world where the likelihood of there being a job at the end is definitive rather than vaguely possible and Independent midwifery wouldn't be being sold out to EU insurance laws.

But, it isn't that world, it's this one and after giving it my all, I know that the most important thing to me is that I see my children grow up and attend their assemblies and awards, that I cook them something other than beans on toast (although they probably don't share my sentiments here!) that is remotely green and healthy and where I can say to a friend that I can help them out if they need it or look after their children if they're running late. I also realise that, I loved delivering babies and working with mums, but really what I'm more passionate about (and what I'm instinctively pretty good at) is parenting and education of the early, early years.
I have always felt very strongly about the connection between the life in the womb and the life outside in the early months, so what I'd like to develop is my work with babies through to 6 years, the crucial, formative years.

We are all creatures of influence to some degree or other and I know that my time in the USA played very heavily on who I am today. A wonderful directress, whom I'm sure I've mentioned before, Mary Reinhardt has always been and will always be that guru that has led me to where I'm going to be going. Her toddler classroom in Wilton, CT was the inspiration that is one day going to be replicated here in my little part of the world. So, first step is to get the diploma...

So...wow! I say so a lot...I hope my path isn't going to be too tricky to navigate. Still, it's September...anything is possible in September!