I know it’s too late now, but I have to show you what my 12 year old son went out and bought me on my return from work on Valentine’s Day (after my presentation). He is SO thoughtful it’s ridiculous […]
This is so weird. I've even got "son off to uni" written in my diary I was that sure of it. Now it's all change and HE'S STILL HERE!! In my house. For another year! Actually I"m very pleased although we're going to have to sort out a few new rules. Things like 1. Stop sleeping so much 2. Get out of bed before 3pm 3. Get a job. 4. Work out where the dishwasher and washing machine are in the house 5. Work out a way of making lunch by yourself that doesn't involve standing in front of the fridge staring mournfully into it waiting for a three tiered sandwich to leap out by itself. 6. Find out where the local supermarket is and how to pay for your own items. 7. Start revising for retakes in January. 8. Start working out how to pay for your travelling later next year. and so on.....I'm showing him newspaper articles of depressing stuff - the three 19 year old's that had just started their travels all being killed on a coach in Thailand - so desperately tragic. Their mothers have launched a campaign to make more people aware of how dangerous it is to be on a coach after dark in Thailand - their road traffic accident figures are about 10 times higher per year than ours. He has sent out CV's and even had some interviews. He's got a trial shift in a pub tomorrow and some event work to do so I think he'll be fine. You just want them to make the most of the time and not waste it. I am thinking of going with him on his gap year - anyone else want to come?
As ever, with children of massively differing ages, the holidays feel disjointed. In addition, as the kids get older and start making their own arrangements - there is no structured plan from one day to the next - they all just want to do their own thing. I am still teaching here and there and my oldest child is already back at school, so it's all proving to be messy. I wish we'd gone away - at least then I would have had their full attention for up to three minutes a day and vice versa.
After an extremely quiet weekend owing to the fact that most of my friends seem to have gone away - the kids came back from a weekend with their father all sun-kissed and wet haired having spent the entire weekend in their newly opened swimming pool. Not only is that proving to be a major attraction, but the new puppy caused hours of amusement as it jumped in and out of the pool - even if they are all covered in scratches and slightly annoyed that after having washed and dried the dog, it kept jumping straight back in again.
It's difficult to compete. I did try and dig a swimming pool in my back garden once - but it didn't really work:- 
So, instead, I took them to Westfield's this morning to buy pants and socks, which strangely didn't seem to appeal to my 10 year old son in the least. "It's MY holiday too" he kept saying as we bought yet another pair of pants for my daughter.
He was also not happy because I tried to spend my insurance voucher in Debenhams on some foundation (owing to bag getting stolen). I had no idea buying foundation was such a nightmare. WAY too much choice. In the end I decided to choose the same brand my daughter is currently favouring because her skin looks SO good but realised (after half an hour of some poor woman attempting to fill in the cracks in my face with a fine tooth comb) that my daughter would look good with foundation made of flour and water. The beauty person asked me what light reflecting-fine-line-filling-SPF factor illuminescent cream I wanted - and when I wasn't sure she asked me whether it was for day? Evening? Day to evening with a bit of nude? (I think that was the colour rather than a inquiry into the state of my undress) Full coverage? (ditto) Matt coverage? Shiny coverage? Shimmery? Hypoallergenic? and when I didn't know that either, she asked me what products I normally use? "Oh" she said. Silence. Like going to a new hairdresser the products you are currently using are always completely wrong - drying, contain animal sweat glands, too much this and that and do you think you should try something a little less dehydrating? Maybe some skin-boosting-serum- age-defying cream to create an amplified correction of all visible signs of ageing?
Well. It didn't work. It took hours to apply (much to my son's horror and daughter's delight) and in the end I still looked like someone old and wrinkly but who was trying too hard to cover it all up. After that I had to make my daughter walk two paces in front of me. Then my daughter asked me why I was wearing my Converse shoes and suggested that it was because she had recently bought some and then laughed when I was all indignant and pointed out that I had been wearing them since they had been invented in 1875 and then she said that I did the same with the denim jacket and then I just felt rubbish. Old. Old. Old. I don't want my daughter to think I'm copying her. How embarrassing.
Must find things to wear that do not look like I am trying to compete with a gorgeous 15 year old but aren't yet elasticated at the waist.
AND THEN, this evening my son came back from school and said, literally a minute after I'd asked him how his day was, "you're going grey".
SOMETIMES, having children is the worst thing for your self esteem.
