Thriving.

Wasn't it our feminist foremothers who reminded us that all the best (as in real and sustaining) (r)evolutions happen around the kitchen table.

Well, right now, making, constructing and building is all high on the interest list and it all tends to happen at the kitchen table.

(R)evolutionaries in the making.

To give you a taster, this is how it goes most mornings right now:

Sky: Before breakfast has been eaten, just about to begin playing the piano.

" Mama, I love Brownie( the horse) but can I make a unicorn today after I do this."

Mama: smiling at her enthusiasm but all the while scuffling around my head to check that this idea will work for me.

"Yep I think that will work. I'll get you some breakfast, you play some piano, and then we can take the next step."

And so, yesterday we made a good start on two unicorns. Of course Ruby jumped on board the moment we began.

Sky drew the head, I helped her enlarge it.

We chose some fabric, a perfect fluffy cream from my Nana's fabric hoard. As we cut into it, I talked to my girls about their great-Grandmother who had died before they were born and about the path the fabric has taken to get to our table. It was good to have the opportunity to share the stories and we all felt great to at last put he fabric to excellent use.

Then we cut, we pinned, they figured the mane and then sewed it all together.

We then chose buttons for the eyes - always the most time consuming of the tasks.

We reluctantly put them aside but planned to finish them today - there wasn't much to do.

And so to this morning: the postie arrives at the door with a parcel - an Easter parcel full of goodness and love from their cousins.

Ruby: "Ok, I want to make them a box full of goodies Mama. I can give them one of my eggs and stitch them a rabbit. "

Mama: hesitating for a moment (doing the internal check),"We have 2 hours before the post office closes at 12pm (and then, gaining confidence as I remember the blown eggs we painted just a couple of days ago) but I think we can do it."

And the spiral of creating, mess making, telling stories and problem solving started again.

This morning a concrete cutter worked on earthquake damage next door. We turned up the music and danced while we stitched.

Uni the Unicorn (Sky likes simple names) will wait in the push chair for another day.

(old woolen blankets - a wonderful resource)

If you need a curriculum, make it your child.

Listen. Surrender. Set the boundaries that you need, if need be.

Dive in.

Accept that thriving is the new normal.