From General to General Dogsbody.

There is a Christmas Fair at Blenheim Palace this week and my daughter was invited to do a floral display in one of the marquees.  She has just set up on her own as a florist and was excited to be given such a great opportunity to practise her craft.  She also asked if I would help out as she would need an extra pair of hands.

As we arrived to set things up I realised that - due to the age difference - most people would assume I was the florist and my daughter the assistant.  Within minutes people were coming up to me to ask about the display and I very quickly steered them to the boss!

I was actually quite nervous about my part in the process, my only flower arranging training was at school (quite a long time ago).  I had to transport my efforts home via a 10 min walk to the bus station followed by a 40 min bus ride home and, needless to say, the arrangements I brought home were always a pretty sorry mess - especially if I had used some of the flowers as missiles toward the annoying boys on the bus.  (My 'school bus life' is a whole other story).

Anyway, working with my daughter for the day was wonderful.  I decided the best thing to do was put myself in total service to her.  She had a big job to do and I needed to be aware of what she would need in order to do it with as little stress as possible.  As she beavered away I walked back and forth from the car carrying buckets of flowers and equipment.  I picked up the rubbish, swept the area and took the occasional photo.

At the end of the process we both were delighted not only with the arrangement (which my photo does not do justice to) but with how well we had worked together.  I knew I could have easily slipped into being a bossy mother and had taken a moment beforehand to ground my awareness that this was her event and I was her assistant.   I went from being the General to being the general dogsbody and loved it.

Being a mother has so many wonderful rewards and seeing your child achieving their dream and doing something they love is one of the best.