Can you believe it is October already? There is a very autumnal feeling here in Northern Ireland with trees displaying their leaves in stunning shades of red, orange and brown. We have been out for walks to collect the leaves that have already fallen, enjoyed crunching them under our feet and hunting for acorns too. Such a lovely season and both Max and Lucia are learning all about it school.
So the first month of the new school year is over and it has flew in. Both children have been really enjoying their time with their friends, learning and playing. Aside from a few mornings last week when Lucia shed a few tears on the way in (a little bit of separation anxiety), once she is in class she absolutely loves it – and most days she still skips in with her pigtails bouncing. She comes out talking about her new friends, playing inside and outside, her favourite stories as well as maybe a word or two about a naughty boy in class!
Tights check
As for her Lymphoedema, her teachers are completely on top of it all and as I have said before in previous posts we have no worries on that side of things. The nursery teacher has organised a fantastic system with her assistant for doing a ‘tights check’ every day and between them they check her every half hour or so and give her a pull up.
They also change her into her ‘outside’ trousers for playground play which have the knee patches ironed onto the inside for extra protection, helping to keep all our minds at ease. She has had one fall so far but no cuts or scratches – just a wee bit of a shock for both her and her teacher! When Mrs M told me at pick up time I think I asked if she was OK before Lucia as I know how much I freak out if Lucia takes a tumble.
Sand pit fun
Lucia then decided one day to have a little adventure in the sand pit with one of her new friends. I don’t know if they were pretending to be at the beach or not but they both took off their shoes and went for a play! Mrs M said she saw the two of them happily jumping up and down together laughing away when she suddenly realised they had no shoes on! Very calmly she got the two of them out, took Lucia’s trousers and tights off, washed her, dried her and changed her into new compression, trousers and shoes. And she did a fantastic job as there wasn’t a grain of sand on her when she came home.
She also went that extra step (as she always does) and took the time to explain to Lucia’s little accomplice that Lucia wasn’t allowed in the sand pit without shoes on as it might hurt her toes. Such a great idea.
Surprisingly, when I received the text telling me about what had happened I couldn’t stop laughing at the thought of my little rascal getting into mischief! Whereas this time last year I probably would have had a melt down!
‘My special tights’
This last month also brought a very special moment…the first time Lucia has ever talked about her Lymphoedema to anyone other than us. One day, as she was getting her garments pulled up she told her little friend; ‘These are my special tights I wear everyday for my Lymphoedema and they stop my leg getting bigger.’ Just like that. Totally matter of fact. No big deal.
When the teacher told me I completely welled up. I suddenly realised how much Lucia has listened and understood when we have talked to her about her Lymphoedema. It showed just how clued in she is about everything at just three years old. I actually thought I was going to burst with pride when I heard how confident she was telling her new friend about it. And her little friend just said ‘ok’, completely accepting it.
Kids are amazing at this age. I love that Lucia felt happy to tell someone about her Lymphoedema and that she doesn’t see her compression as a big deal. I love that she told it straight – this is how it is – in such a beautifully innocent way. I love that right now she rarely gives it a second thought and takes it all in her stride – and I long for that mind-set to continue for many many years to come.
One proud proud mummy.
So glas to hear she is going so well… You must be proud parents but should also give yourselves a big pat on the back for how you have prepared her… Xxxx
Thanks Helen, lovely of you to say that. We are very proud of her ? hope you are doing ok x
Jo-Ann, I am not sure if you remember our corresponding last year (it might’ve been a couple of years ago, actually), but I was just thinking about you and your little family, wondering how your little girl is doing. I could not be more thrilled at how well she is doing. You have done a beautiful job with raising a strong, curious and happy little girl. I, too, pray that, as she grows older, her mind-set remains positive and confident about who she is and all the possibilities still available to her. How wonderful that she has such attentive and loving teachers as well! That must put your mind more at ease to have others looking out for her like you would. This post made me so happy and proud 🙂
Hi Monique, I certainly do remember you. Your blog was the first one I found a few years back and I still love reading it. You are a fantastic role model for us and we are trying to instil that ‘can do anything’ mind-set that you have into Lucia. And so far so good! Thank you so much for your lovely comment, she is a very happy girl who doesn’t hold back on much! Her introduction to school has been great – as you say we are very fortunate to have such attentive teachers so we don’t constantly worry. I hope you and your lovely family are well and look forward to your next post.xx