Jolly Holidays?

Well, it’s nearly the end of the school holidays and the finishing line is in sight.  As from next week, our eldest two’s squabbling will be limited to between 7 – 8.50am and 3.35 – 7pm, instead of being one long, continuous, twelve hour argument, punctuated only by feeding time and the occasional nap.

I will no longer have to consider selling my body on the internet (or an alternative option that might have a chance of bringing some money in) to fund the various children’s activities and sources of entertainment that must be undertaken in order to retain what’s left of my sanity.

I will be able to remove the intravenous drip of wine from my vein (at least during the week) and I will once again wear my I Pod to listen to music instead of using it as an instrument to drown out the screaming of my darling offspring.  I will actually be nodding in time to the music instead of pretending to agree with my children when in reality I can’t actually hear them.

No doubt next week is going to be emotional; our eldest is going into the juniors and our three year old is starting pre-school.  No doubt I will once again be on the verge of tears; not because I’m prying open the jaws of our twenty one month old to get him to release the arm of his brother; not because the b*****d dog has chewed another expensive toy that’s been left lying around, and not because my children are expecting a blow by blow account of how they are going to be entertained, every single second of every single day (with any gaps satisfactorily explained).

Obviously, in part at least, they will be tears of a mother’s pride (and slight reluctance) as I watch my children grow up, start new adventures and gain new experiences.

If the weather’s wet and humid, they might just be down to hayfever.

Then again, they will most likely be tears of pure relief that if my three children are in three different locations for three hours each day (school, pre-school, toddler group), then as from next week, the world will be a much more peaceful place to live for everyone…especially me 🙂