Well, the bayblade worked - Joe couldn't wait to get through the school gates on Friday, in fact he went in so quickly I didn't even have the chance to give him his book bag or kiss him goodbye!
On Thursday evening after the PEP, we decided to email all the parents in his class, and just give them a bit of a briefing about what has gone on for Joe in the last 11 weeks, so that if he is being talked about by his class mates when they get home, their parents don't label him as being naughty and instead give him some support. I also asked for suggestions about what sports clubs they are all involved with so that we can get him signed up. Sport is something he seems naturally good at, so we want to encourage him with activities where he can do well, to help build his confidence.
I wasn't sure what the response would be, or it was appropriate to send the email out to people we don't really know yet, but we were blown away by the response - a real show of support, lots of empathy for Joe, lots of comments about how refreshing our honesty and openness was, and lots of suggestions for clubs for Joe.
And we've just had a fabulous weekend. The 30 degree sunshine has helped, but the boys have been delightful and we had my sister, her husband and their two children to stay, which was great both for us in terms of returning to some sort of normality, and also great for the boys who have never had a sleep over before.
Before they arrived we spent the morning with the boys, and we took Joe down to buy a new two wheel scooter - which he was so excited about. We thought it would take him a while to get used to it, but he got on it in the shop and was a natural. We went for lunch in a park and then came home ready for the arrival of Helen & co.
Another trip to the park, some playing in the paddling pool in our garden and then a barbeque and a late night. The boys loved it!
This morning they were up early but Jess, their 11 year old cousin went in to maternal mode so G and had a bit of a lie in. Then after a slow breakfast we headed to the beach were we bumped in to one of Joe's classmates and they splashed around in the paddling pool for a while. Then home for a BBQ lunch.
It was so great watching the boys interact with their uncle, aunty and two cousins. It's clear that they have no reference point for family life like this, but they loved every minute of this new experience. An experience that for most children would have built gradually over years, but for the boys is yet another new adventure.
The house has been full of laughter all weekend and it's been great. After they left we sat to watch a DVD and Charlie lay on top of me and we both fell asleep.
The boys are in bed now, they were asleep within a minute of us closing the door I think, very tired and very happy little chaps.
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