Needs Adult Supervision

A little adventure 

Eddie has asked us if he can walk home from school. It's only about a five- to ten-minute walk and we walk it a lot. But he wants to do it alone. He desperately wants some independence. He has a plan.

He will walk with two friends. And will carry his phone and call us if he needs us. 

I'm so excited from him because he is so excited. He will be nine in September. He wants to feel independent. I think that is especially important to him because he has very little independence, due to his illness. He can't have sleepovers. He can't have playdates without us being there. We try to do spontaneous stuff but that's hard when you have insulin and food to factor in. We are still not even at his two year 'diaversary' - but he has a plan. 

And he told us his plan. 

He will take his kit and oversee 'medication'. He will also take two bottles of water. 

His friend will oversee food. Because they apparently need a lot of snacks for the walk. 

But my favourite bit - they want to bring a net and a spade. In case there is an earthquake, and they get stuck and have to get food. Two of the three kids are vegetarian, but he told me solemnly that he could catch an eel 'if it was life or death.' And, he informed me, ‘You can’t take a knife to school. But we will use a stick if we have to take the skin off the eel.’ But that’s a last resort, ‘because we are going to use the spade to dig up vegetables and pick fruit.’

They will take a notepad in case they have to leave a note to say thank you to the person whose fruit they took.

They will bring two sticks to start a fire.

They will bring one sleeping bag each, just in case.

And they will bring a book to share, in case they need entertainment.

I guess they’re all set, huh?

The first walk home will be in a month, so they have plenty of time to work on their survival skills.

How good, honestly. There’s going to be three kids with hiking packs on, walking five minutes home down the road.