Theunsisen tales

Clumsy Mum! (Again!)

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Following on from the electric scooter incident, there are a number of other stories that the kids like to tell about my clumsiness.

This first one is written by Leo, my youngest. You should know that in our garden there’s a fairly steep grassy slope!

“One day in the summer I was hungry so I went into the kitchen to look for some food. I looked outside and everything was normal and Mum was hanging the washing. I looked away for one second, then looked back to see Mum rolling down the hill. She had done it again, she had fallen down the hill starfish style again.”

The other story that causes Millie, in particular, great hilarity, happened last spring. As we’ve mentioned before, we have a caravan, but last year the one we had been using for about ten years was deemed unusable! So we took the kids to an outdoor caravan showroom. Not that we had much intention of buying one from there, but we thought it would be helpful to get an idea of what we would want.

This is Millie’s version:

“So this is my favourite story to tell anyone who is willing to hear it. It was the spring 2024, and we were looking for a new caravan, after the old one sadly broke. In the first caravan we looked in, we were excited and intrigued to see what it would be like. The first caravan was right in front of the caravan shop. Dad and I had finished looking around and were outside waiting for Mum, Leo and Abbie to come out. Suddenly, we hear an enormous crash behind us. We turned to see mum on the floor looking like a starfish! She was looking at the sky, praying that God would give her the strength to get up and not have her family laughing at her! Unfortunately for her, me and dad couldn’t control our laughter. Abbie and Leo were watching from the caravan and laughing too. Not only the family, but everyone in the shop! It was really embarrassing as the manager came and asked if mum was ok while the rest of us were still laughing. Then the manger went around all the caravans and took the steps away so that mum wouldn’t fall again, although that would have been fun to see. This was my highlight of 2024! I can’t get through the story when I’m telling my friends. I either can’t breathe or I’m on the floor like my mum dying of laughter.”

Here’s Leo’s version of the same event!

“We all went to a caravan showroom to find a new caravan. When we had arrived, we began to look around. The first caravan we looked at was nice and comfortable. We decided to look at some more. Mum went to get out of the caravan first, she stepped onto the stool and… the stool slipped and she fell starfish style on the floor.”

You’ll notice the theme of me “starfishing” on the floor, as it’s become known! I’m sure there will be more of these stories to come!

Theunissen Table Tales

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At a wedding last year, my husband Sean was delivering the message, and he mentioned that to get to know us as a family, all you need to do is come for dinner. It’s around our table that you’ll hear all our stories, and our secrets! At that point in the service, several faces in the congregation turned to us and smiled knowingly.

It’s one of the things I love about our family. We can laugh at those little accidents and mistakes everyone experiences in everyday life. It means although some stories might have been difficult to live through with distance, we’re able to find the lighter side.

So with the help of my children and their permission, I’ve collated a whole list of favourite stories to share. Last year was a tough year and so rehearsing those moments of laughter is often what carries us through. I hope you enjoy reading about our adventures and mishaps. I’d love to hear yours!

I’m going to start with a story the kids love to retell about me! I don’t think of myself as clumsy, but the reality is, I probably am, just a little!

A couple of years ago, Bournemouth introduced electric scooters and so we took the kids down to the seafront and hire them. Leo was very cautious and so instead he took his hoverboard with the go-kart attachment. We hired three scooters and took it in turns to scoot up and down the prom. Everything was going fine, the sun was shining, kids were laughing and racing each.

Then, unfortunately, Leo’s hoverboard battery died before we wanted to finish with the scooters. It was heavy and so we couldn’t just carry it around for the next hour or so, which meant someone had to take it back to the car. Sean was happy to walk it back, but I was sure there was a quicker way.

I suggested we strap the go-kart attachment to the handlebars of one of the electric scooters and then carry the (very heavy) hover board under one arm while scooting back on one of the other scooters. Sean was not keen on the idea but I’m a trier and so wouldn’t give it up! I strapped the go-kart on to Tom’s scooter as he watched with a doubtful look.

Sean and Tom both said they thought it wouldn’t work, but I was adamant it would be fine. Saying my stubborn catchphrase “It’ll be fine!”. I put the hover board under my arm, kicked off on the scooter, and accelerated off.

I say accelerated off, but in reality I went about 5 meters before the hoverboard started to slip and I had to readjust it. It turns out you can’t use an electric scooter with one hand while adjusting a weighty item under the other arm! I wobbled and toppled!

The crash was loud enough to draw the attention of everyone on the prom, which was, as always, very busy. My family stood 5 meters behind me staring and, in Sean’s case, hiding a smile and shaking his head. I lay, starfish style, on the sand covered concrete, assessing my injuries (a very real concern in your forties)! Definite bruised knees and elbows, and more importantly bruised ego!

After the freeze frame moment, Sean came jogging over and helped me up. The kids followed, staring down at me with incredulity. To his credit, Sean didn’t laugh, or say I told you so, not then anyway! He checked I was ok, picked up the hoverboard, unstrapped the go-kart from the other scooter and walked back to the car, despite my insisting I would try again!

To this day, whenever the kids tell this story, I still think we could have found a way! I think this story illustrates well one of my biggest blind spots! I think with a bit of effort anything is possible, and I’m willing to give it a go anyway!