Chaos on the beach

So Princess Sleepyhead had a friend over the other day. Her friend's parents don't have a car, so in the past I've always had to drive over and pick her up and take her home again, which gets a bit frustrating because it means I have to give up my writing time, and then whenever friends are over I lose writing time anyway because the kids share my space. Grrr. So I decided last time that I would only take her one way. I mean, really, she wants to come here to swim in the pool, so why do I have to be running around? I'm more than happy to have her, but that extra 45 or so minutes of driving all adds up.

So, it's a 41 degree day, and she's coming on the train. It's an easy walk from the train station, but I usually pick up whatever friends are there because they don't really know the way. (It's a very easy walk -- they only have to cross one road.) So I go to pick her up, and her mum's there. She's not allowed on the train on her own. (Now, I should've taken my cue from this but didn't.) PS is 15 and not at all independent. Her brother, who's 13, catches buses to school and runs around quite happily on trains on his own. He's very cluey. We're trying to foster independence in PS who is happy to be mollycoddled all the time. It's part of her ADD thing, I think. She doesn't even like picking out her own clothes. So, I was a bit surprised to see the mother, and felt a bit mean for not having driven over and picked the girl up. Was I unreasonable?

Anyway, they have a fun day, she sleeps the night, they spend the next morning in the pool, and then beg me to take them to the beach -- which is to say the guest, and Sir Talkalot (who went to the beach the day before on his own) beg. Princess Sleepyhead is not so fussed, but the others cajole her into going.

So, they are only going to be there for an hour and a half. By this time the cool change has come through so I think they may change their minds, but no they're adamant they want to go. They could walk, but figuring the drive down will give me some peace to write, I agree to take them and pick them up later on. The sea is choppy, a big swell for a suburban beach. I am aware that while the guest can swim, she is not overly confident in water, so I warn my kids not to go out of their depth, not to leave her alone, and to look after her. And not to jump off the pier (which no-one's supposed to do, but which plenty of people do do.) PS says she's going to take her iPod, and I forbid her from taking it. I should act more strongly because she gives me a funny little look, a smart little look, that tells me she's going to defy me, but really I don't feel up for a war.

Later, ST meets me when I pick them up and says, "I think you'd better come."

"What's wrong?"

"Just come."

My heart's in my throat. What's happened? Clearly something's gone wrong. Is the guest okay? Then I see her limping along the street. Clearly she hasn't drowned, so that's a relief. Where's PS? Turns out she's looking for her bag, the one containing all her clothes (mostly new), her sandals, towel, beloved mood ring and, yes, of course, her iPod. Her stuff's in a Coles bag. Big mistake. About ten other people are carrying Coles bags; we try to peer into all of them, but don't see her stuff. Not sure how I'm going to handle it if we do. The guest has been pushed off the pier -- I'm still not clear about whether this might have been a diversionary tactic to distract our intrepid trio. In any case, there are complications because she's bashed her leg against a pylon (or the sea threw her against one -- the stories aren't completely clear) and ended up with a hairline fracture. Nice. If it wasn't a diversionary tactic, it was still teenage boys mucking around. No-one saw who did it, but with the sea the way it was she was lucky she didn't drown. How do you counteract idiots? I wish I could tell them what they have done, because they won't know and might very well do it again with more serious consequences. Then of course they may just rejoice in her misfortune. So, it wasn't a good day overall. Guest fractured her leg, and PS lost her iPod. I doubt that we'll recover it. I just hope she learns her lesson.