Test Day - For Mummy?

Before I start my ramblings... Oatie couldn't do this a year ago before ABR, if he did, he'd flop to the side and definitely fall off... I couldn't have left him sat like that where as now, I wasn't worried about him falling off at all, look how much he's improved.

Today was a classic "ping pong" day for mummy.  Well it was funny all along and on days like this, a sense of humour is invaluable! 

Well I dropped all three kiddies off,  and had one hour before re-picking up my eldest at 10.20, so I was right by our rec centre so I went for a public skate, drove to my eldest's school, picked him up, and took him back to the Rec Centre as his had his very first skating test today, and today he tested for his Dutch Waltz.

We got to the rec centre about 10.45am, and he started to get changed into his skating outfit, when his daddy came to tie his skates and supervise him, while I RAN across the snow covered field to get Oatie from his preschool at 11:00.  The snow is still about 1 foot deep on the field and there is a beaten down path, but one of the other schools were doing a tug of war on the path, so I was like Tigger bouncing from one foot hole to the next in my RUNNERS!!! grabbed the very excited Oat, and trudged back to the rec centre (sweating buckets! LOL!) only to find my eldest was GREEN!!! I was like arghghghghghhghghg, why is he GREEN!?@@!:>?!

So my husband dove him outside to get some fresh air, while Oatie and I snuck in a kitkat!  Do you remember the Advert "Have a break, Have a KitKat!"? Well my eldest CREAMED the test, he was amazing. (He's on the left...)

So afterwards, he looked fairly "stoned" like he was on something, and like he was in shock...  So I had to get him re-dressed in his school clothes and try and get some food into him and back to school.  (He was on adrenaline)

Usually, I'd sign him in and he'd speed off to his classroom but, he wasn't up for that... and I was assessing whether I was going to take my "bunny" home...but he wanted to go back to school... and I thought Gym class after library would help him feel normal...  Well we rolled into school at 1pm and I thought I'd take him to his teacher, and the poor love went to climb the two flights, I casually walked behind him ready to catch him if he flopped but he was ok.  So he went to sit down and still a bit green and off... and explained the situation and she said she'd busy him up and he'd be fine.

He's such a cool customer usually, that I've never seen him like this ever, and it dawned on me how people for example focus so much on "getting your axel" which is like now you're a REAL SKATER... and yes I can't do one on or off land, but at the end of a day it's a jump and many push past to move on to double or in Patrick Chan's case a QUAD! (ok I'm a fan... but also of Vaughn Chipeur).  My eldest did that with this test, his coaches wanted him to have a really good first experience and almost guarantee a pass so he's not discouraged (which was sweet of them really)... so the test day had been put off since Last Summer, and then November and then today... so it had been building and building (what is "test day" I guess inside and WHOOSH! he made it into something it wasn't as he did the test, passed it and had all this adrenaline but nothing to use it for = Green!).

So after dropping my Green son at school, I whizzed home fed my other two boys at home, Oatie and his Daddy (and me!!!!) and then I had to pick up my daughter and well I ended up feeling Green too as I was chatting to my friend when this woman grabbed my arm, spun me around (in runners went around 3 times) and started shouting at my daughter!  I was like Whoa Whoa Whoa... hold on a minute.... and firmly placed myself between my daughter and this woman... (at this point I had adrenaline pulsing through my veins as I was ready to physically defend my daughter) as I wasn't expecting it and didn't even know who this person was...and I was like "WHY are you shouting at me and my daughter" and she said she's been waiting to pounce on me all week!  She started up again and I was like look! Take a deep breath and tell me what your issue is.  So she started at my daughter AGAIN and I was like NO! I said ME!  At that point I asked her if she was from X part of the world and she said yes... and at that point, I felt relieved as well it kind of explained her behaviour a little...  "She wanted to know why MY daughter wouldn't play with her at Lunch"....Her beef was that her daughter was being bullied (not by my daughter but the same bullies that bully mine) and had no one to play with X,Y and Z...and had started at this school from Jan... from how she pounced, you could tell that this mum was really upset... and I was like well my daughter is in the same boat but has had this since September.  So I bent down and asked my daughter who this girl was and they both were kicked in the stomach and snow thrown in their faces the other day... so I thought well this is a great opportunity to "manufacturer a coalition friendship", both love pink, both are being bullied and both have no one to play with... and after that they held hands...  I explained to this mum,  how my daughter was weary of anyone wanting to be her friend there as they say "let's play together and run off saying don't touch her you'll catch it!" .  So then we realised that these two pink girls birthdays are 5 days apart and the same age...and both smart cookies, so by the end of it, both of them were jumping up and down shouting "We have a friend, we have a Best Friend"!  I explained that if they stuck together, then the bullies would be far more reluctant to take on both of them, and if one is being bullied the other can get the teacher... so they liked that idea too.  I think the mum was actually ok as a person, I think seeing her daughter being bullied at school just broke her heart (we all know what that's like...).... and even-though this mum's approach was a bit irrational... her daughter was still in tears... so that melted me...  When we were back in the car, (I asked my daughter what happened, and she said that L, did come and ask her, but the bell went and L ran off inside before she could even reply...)

Usually I'd be rolling JJ before collecting my daughter and after when I got back... but not today...

So after that, I got home and well got my son and daughter ready for their skating... their coach put on some music that they know a group routine too that they all love and made my eldest PROMISE that if something is bothering him, even if he thinks it's silly... to just come and talk to me or his dad and not shoulder the worry or feelings like that on his own... as it can get "out of control" and he ended up feeling Green the whole day.  He did say that he's never going to be worried about Test Day again... he didn't realise it was nothing to worry about!

Well my eldest is keen to start the next dance and persuaded his coaches to start to teach him the steps this evening... he said he's really enjoying the dances which was nice.  I always knew that he loved figure skating, but I didn't know he loved it THAT much, as he took so much pride in the test and obviously it meant so much to him..., he wanted colour co-ordinate with his coach, and he insisted that I bought his coach some flowers for dancing with him (as his coach usually only gets to skate the mans steps...) so it was a mini rose pot plant. (It's an independent judge who's not affiliated with the kids).  My eldest didn't want to leave England unless he could figure skate, he didn't know what it was called when he was 4, he said I want to do THAT and pointed at the TV.

Well all of them are tucked up in bed... and my hubby is on his way home with groceries and our "date night/take out" so I'm about to kick my heels of and put my feet up and looking forward to watching a film.