I took my precious, fragile little man for his second haircut the other day. The first one went ok. He was very brave. But the second time I took him he knew what he was in for and he didn’t like it at all.
I held him as they cut and I could see he was scared, my heart was shedding a soft, silent tear. The hairdresser did a remarkable job but my boy is not easy consoled or distracted. I felt for them both.
I thought this trip said so much about him, about where he is at, about how I want to raise him.
He is at an age now where many people think I should put him in care or school as it is often called here. I am not at all opposed to childcare; the vast majority of my closest friends use it to one extent or another and it works really well for both them and their delightful children. But my instincts tell me that it isn’t for him. I know that many people think it would ‘toughen him up’, that it is exactly what he needs, but I feel the opposite. I feel he needs to be nurtured. He needs to know he is safe. That as his Mother I am happy to move along slowly, to let his courage develop at his own pace.
He is perfectly happy to have short periods without me around. I am blessed with a close friend and neighbour whose house he loves, he barely even notices when I walk out the door without him. He is also happy to stay with my Mum for brief periods when she is visiting us.
These days, I wouldn’t say he is especially clingy. He is a just little boy who has never been all that sure about this big wide world. He is a little boy who loves the quiet life, his days at home and his time with his family. He is a little boy that will not be a little boy for long.
Breakfast Biscuits
6 medjool dates, seeds removed
1 small banana (100 grams)
1/2 cup – 1 cup of rolled oats*
Preheat your oven to 175 degrees Celsius or 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Line a cookie tray with baking paper.
Place the ingredients into your blender or food processor and pulse until well combined. If you are using 1/2 a cup of oats the mixture will be quite wet, you can dallop it straight onto the tray or roughly shape it with your hands. If you use 1 cup of oats you will be able to shape the mixture into cookies, you can see the difference between the two in the image above. Bake for 12 – 14 minutes. Allow to cool. Eat and enjoy!
*in the photo above the lovely neat ones at the back have 1 cup of oats, the rustic ones at the front have the lesser amount. When I am packing them in Lu’s lunchbox I use 1 cup of oats.
When I put up these School Cookies I had a few requests for a grain free version which is here and a tahini free version which I posted here. I also planned on sharing this recipe around the same time, but something else must have taken my fancy and I forgot I had not shared it until today, as I sifted through my endless pile of recipe drafts. I hope you enjoy this one as much as the others. Be sure to let me know.