I was just about to begin my report of the past two weeks when Ella dashed down the stairs past me. “Don’t worry Dad, I’m not going to ask you any questions” she panted as she sprinted into the kitchen. No more than five seconds later she raced back past me on her way up the stairs. Pausing, she stared at me and in all sincerity reassured me “I love you Daddy, and I always will.” I don’t think there’s anything better.
While the past fortnight has been extremely busy, it has also been rather dull. My days have consisted of writing a report of my most recent study. Perhaps a brief overview will not be too much of an imposition: I am interested in the concept of people having a “calling” in life, and specifically whether or not people can feel ‘called’ to be parents. I interviewed parents to ask them how they would describe ‘calling’ and what their experiences of calling may be, whether in their own lives or in the lives of others. Previous researchers have only ever examined calling in the vocational context, so this is quite a new idea to be examining it in the parental domain.
My participants’ responses suggest that calling in parenthood can and does exist. The core components they identified were that called parents see the role as a central part of their identity, sense great meaning in the role, sacrifice significantly, have parenting always on their mind, felt and remain drawn to do their best in the role, and are passionate about being parents. These results are consistent with the concept of calling in other roles and seem to be valuable in both research and applied directions. In particular the idea of calling is linked to optimal outcomes in other domains and so we anticipate that more research will yield similar results in family life. This will make this research very useful for practitioners and those who develop interventions for parents in need. Finally some success with my PhD.
The report is essentially finished now, and I hope to submit it in the coming week or two. If I can see it published that will be a significant and positive outcome.
On Australia Day we spent considerable time with Tim and Kesh again. They visited us for Family Home Evening the night previous and we ate Chickos. Lots of it! Then on Tuesday we ventured south to Gerringong where they stayed. We took the children to the beach and swam, before returning to their accommodation for barbequed lamb chops, leftover Chickos, and more.
The following day, Wednesday the 27th Jan, I had a special errand to run for the University. Grant applications were due in Canberra – a 3 hour drive. Several million dollars worth of grants were being applied for by our department and to ensure they arrived safely and on time I was given a hire car and paid to drive to Canberra and back to deliver them. I took three small passengers with me: Chanel, Abbie, and Ella. We met our friends, the Thayer family, and visited Questacon – the National Science Centre – for the day! Given that it was the last day of NSW school holidays the place was almost empty. The children barely had to line up for anything, and played for hours. It was a wonderful treat.
Chanel and Abbie started school on Thursday. Chanel is now a Grade 5 girl while Abbie moved into Grade 2. They have had a stellar start to the school year and things are going very well for them.
Friday night was a superb night at the velodrome. Chanel had the race of her life, hanging onto the back of the older, faster girls as they raced. She managed to ride further, faster, and longer than ever before and was so overwhelmed by the experience that she burst into tears when she finally stopped after the race. She was ecstatic about her effort and loved telling everyone how hard she had worked.
Saturday we enjoyed time in the pool during the morning. I had a bike race during the afternoon, called cyclocross. It’s a race over all kinds of terrain and obstacles requiring the riders to dismount, carry their bikes on their shoulders, and essentially ride their hearts out. We had a tremendous time. I finished 8th in a field of just under 20 riders, which I was pleased with given that I don’t have the type of bike-handling skills and experience many of the other riders had. It was a hard race. That night my legs were so sore I could barely climb the stairs to bed. Exhaustion!
Sunday was quiet at church. It is such an important part of my week and I love being there. We had Verna and her two daughters over for a pancake and ice-cream lunch. Sweet, sticky, and completely, delectably, delicious.
Monday Feb 1 was Ella’s first day of kindergarten. Our 3rd daughter is now at big school! We were extremely nervous. Ella has always required a lot of her teachers and has obviously had some special needs over the years. To say that this week has been successful for Ella is to understate just how wonderful it really has been! Ella loves school. She loves her teachers. She is developing friendships. We are so grateful that the transition to school has been so successful.
Abbie recommenced piano lessons this week and is delighted to be back there. We are hopeful that her progress will be exciting to watch over the year. And Chanel swam in her swimming carnival for school on Friday. She enjoyed her day and swam well, winning the 50m butterfly and breaststroke for her age, as well as placing second in the 50m backstroke and freestyle. In addition she placed third in the 100m freestyle, which was also against girls a year older than her. As if that is not enough, she will also represent her school at the district swimming carnival in all four of the 50m events and the 200m individual medley. Chanel is feeling pretty good about her efforts.
Saturday I went for an early bike ride, leaving home shortly before 5.30am. It was wet, windy, and pouring rain at various times, but I still snuck in around 110kms AND returned home 20 minutes early. What a guy! My daddy-daughter date was with Abbie. We visited the RSPCA to find a pet puppy but there were none available. Then we visited the Wollongong Science Centre (part of the deal when we bought our annual pass to Questacon). It was such a treat. Lots of fun.
Saturday night brought with it the highlight of the week though I think. Not only did we have one of my favourite meals for dinner – wraps – but we were treated to a puppet show by Abbie and Ella. They hid behind the lounge and held the puppets up above the top. They then re-enacted the story of the Little Red Hen from memory. I didn’t even know they knew it! They giggled infectiously and soon our whole family was laughing out loud with delight. And they told the whole story! It was the best puppet show I’ve ever seen in our family. Then the children put on their favourite CD of kids songs and danced and jumped around the lounge room with complete and absolute vigour. It was such a treat to watch and laugh with them.
Sunday was testimony meeting. It was a refreshingly good meeting, perhaps as much because of who didn’t speak as who did. With only five minutes to go our Stake President rose and commenced his “testimony”. It lasted approximately 20 minutes. After around 15 minutes Chanel looked up at me and asked, “Is he going to talk about everything?” It was very funny, but hard to sit through. By that time the children throughout the chapel knew it was beyond our regular meeting time, and were eager to be out the door. So his testimony really pushed a few buttons. But he is a good man, and had an important message. The afternoon was restful. I accidentally fell asleep for nearly three hours. Yikes. I knew I was tired, but did not expect that!
So now dinner is about to be eaten. Steak with chilli and basil – YUM! The children are happily ensconced in their activities and are anxiously awaiting another chapter or two of Enid Blyton’s “Enchanted Wood.” Our family is blessed beyond all deserving, and we are deeply grateful.
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