A Regular Day in Our World

6am:  Nick came bounding into my bedroom. Yay, I got a sleep-in. Big win. (The husband was away).

6:15:  I put on my proactive parent hat and got Nick showered, helped him with breakfast, gobbled down my porridge and hustled him out the door.

8:00:  We arrived at the beachfront to find everyone else had the same idea.

8:05:  Before leaving the car, I asked Nick to stay with me as there were too many people around and I didn't want him to get lost. *On quieter days I am happy for him to roam.

We checked out the long line of people waiting for tables at a popular cafe. Hmmm, decided to look again after our walk.

As we walked, Nick pointed out people with happy faces, cross faces and people on cell phones. He showed me boys, girls, beards and other various bits and bobs that interested him.

At one point he made the gesture for 'finished'. My response was to inform him that I wanted to go to the end of the pier to watch the surfers. After that, we could then go for a milkshake. Nothing wrong with a little bit of bribery, I say!

Nick waited patiently while I spent a bit of time on the end of the pier practicing my photography.

We bumped into Nick's Physio and her family. Our little meet up added a nice curve ball to our outing as Nick is not used to seeing her in a different setting. He handled the experience comfortably.

We then headed back to the cafe for the much anticipated milkshake. Oh woe is us, the line was still very long. But, hey ho... no sweat. I change our plan and tell Nick that it would be easier to go to the Mall. This was not an issue for him.

After a delicious strawberry milkshake... and cappuccino for me, we hit the shops.

First up was the Pharmacy. Then the smart grocery shop. Thereafter, the good old bread and milk store. We walked together. We took on various roles; taking turns with the trolley, passing items, placing items on the cashier's desk and other regular mum and son stuff.

12 noon:  Back home.

I love outings like this where everything just flows. Nick cruises along and takes it all in his stride. He doesn't need a rigid schedule and he remains relaxed if I need to change our plans. It's fabulous to have a flexible teen. The stress we lived with in the early days is now a distant memory.