When I was four one of my most treasured days of the week in Prep was woodwork.
We had a low set work bench filled with neat containers of nails, various bottle caps and wood offcuts from the local hardware store.
With a child sized hammer in hand, we were left mostly to our own devices to create whatever came to mind.
I was not a great artist when it came to painting and drawing, so these sessions gave me confidence and pride in my ability to create with my own two hands.
I had forgotten about this until recently when I needed to get some home improvement done and my dad came to our house to teach me some basics on drilling into brick and plasterboard.
When he left I continued my roll; hanging paintings, mounting shelves and pegboards. At the end I felt invincible and fulfilled, then the cloud of mother’s guilt rolled in and I wondered if I could being do more to cultivate this feeling in our kids?
For separate reasons both our children had their first weeks in the neonatal intensive care unit and it has certainly informed the way we parent.
But lately I’ve been feeling an urge to push them out of the nest a little to test all our limits and it’s been yielding results.
Over Easter our three-year-old in command of his scooter was confidently diving down ramps at the local skate park, our seven year old tried even trickier manoeuvres and most surprisingly when she hurt herself was quick to get back up without a fuss.
Yes my heart was in my throat the whole time but we were all building our resilience.
I definitely copped a few red thumbs in those early years of woodworking but the trust and independence I felt from those teachers gave me the confidence to keep going, and I wonder but will never know how much they informed my adult self.
