One more sleep to go ...........

I hope you're week is going well.  We break up tomorrow for a whole week and a day off school and work....yippee!

The little darling's pretty have much booked us to do something everyday next week, so by about next Wednesday I will probably be wishing I was back at work!

This is the last week of the school holidays I am able to spend at home as we open our caravan next month for another season and nearly all the school holidays are spent by the seaside - not a bad life really is it!

Enjoy your weekend and lets keep our fingers crossed for no snow next week here in sunny London.

Sue x x x

Dusting off the soapbox....

Happy Valentines Day to you all.  Hope you are all being spoilt today!  I've been very lucky and received a large bouquet of my favourite flowers - Stargazer Lillies, and the smell beautiful!

Now that the niceties are out of the way, I need to have a moan....BIG TIME.

As most of you know, I work in a school office with my 3 colleagues.  All of us are first aid trained for emergency first aid in a school.  Very basic stuff really, banged heads, cut fingers and nose bleeds...stuff like that really.  We don't actually have a 'Welfare lady' as such but we all cover the medical room.  Over the last few weeks we have had a nasty tummy bug go round the school - mostly sickness.  Last week one of our Y5 children came to us complaining of tummy pains and looked a bit pale.  He couldn't eat his lunch and felt clammy but didn't have a temperature.  He's not a usual visitor to the medical room, so we called Mum to come and collect him.  She came and reluctantly took him home.  He was back into school next day and again came to the medical room that afternoon, this time doubled over in pain and crying.  Again, we contacted Mum, who was not to impressed as she was at Tesco's shopping and had to arrange for the child's Grandad to collect him.

On Friday morning she came to the school office with her child in tow.  She told me that she was not impressed that he's been sent home twice this week and had taken him to the Doctors who confirmed that there was nothing wrong with him.  She also advised that she was going to keep him off school today as although he is perfectly well, it is a waste of time sending him in as WE KEEP SENDING HIM HOME.

Now, I explained that he had been clearly in discomfort earlier in the week but if she says there is nothing wrong with him then we will not send him home.  This mother is also a supply teacher (not at our school).  So, you'd think she'd know better.  The teacher kept sending her son to us, what are we supposed to do?  She then had the audacity to slag us off in the playground saying the school should have a  proper Welfare lady or nurse as we don't know what we are doing!  The cheek of it.

She is the sort of parent that if we didn't contact her when her little darlings were unwell - she'd still have a moan.

I know I shouldn't take it to heart but I can't help it.  I am so annoyed with her that I feel like challenging in the playground in the morning...although I know it would not be the right thing to do BUT I would feel a lot better!

Hazards of the job my boss says. 

Aaaaaaaaarrrrrrggggggghhhhh.

Have a good week.

Sue x x x

Letting go...

The hardest thing so far that I've found with being a parent is letting go, and loosing the control I had over my daughter.  Until recently, I was pretty much in control of her life in many ways - what she wore, what she ate, where she went etc.  It's been very hard to let her take over these decisions I can tell you.  I'm not a controlling person (well I don't think I am) but I like to feel in control of things...does this make sense?

She will be 15 in the summer and is very much all grown up.  So different to me as I was a young teen in the early 80's.  She has found her own identity, wears what she likes/wants and does not feel pressured to follow the trend.  I admire her for that.  But she is feeling a bit pressured to be slim, which worries me some what as I had an eating disorder in my mid teens.  It will be her prom in Jan 2012 and she wants to look her best - her words not mine.  So during the week she will not eat all day until she gets home from school.  I have tried to explain to her that this really is not a good idea but I don't want to make a big issue out of it - just yet.  She is not really starving herself as she does not stop eating the minute she gets through the door at 4pm!.  She has a lovely little figure and I've told her that her body shape will change by itself as she gets older - but why would she listen to me!

It's not easy this parent malarkey is it?

It's so easy to 'push' your children away - even if you are not really trying to.  It's a case of getting the right mix so they trust you and will confide in you but you have to remember not to be too pushy and come across as it you are prying into their lives too much.

Apparently, I was a right cowbag as a young teen - so my Dad says.  I would argue with them over the silliest things and often for no real reason at all but I always thought that they were the ones at fault.  Now I have a teen myself I can appreciate just how difficult I made my parents life! 

Is it any easier with boys, I guess not - probably same worries for different reasons.

Have a good weekend.

Sue x x x