The calm before the storm

Surviving the holidays

Whilst social media seems to be full of ‘how to survive the next three weeks’ advice and downloads of summer holiday photos from all and sundry (every picture, it seems, needs to be shared), Chez Molton everything has been pretty chilled actually. Having started the holidays with a dose of Covid and used much of our spare cash on sorting out the garden, I wasn’t sure how things would go this year but so far, so good. It’s that bit of the holiday where most people we know are away (making trying to arrange to meet up with more than one other family at once a logistical nightmare) and I’ve been working most of the break, but the kids have kept themselves relatively well entertained (lots of screens to be honest, but also, a lot of Warhammer, surprisingly), the dog is getting walks and the washing is getting done. I’ve even managed to finally get around to actually decorating, after almost four years in our current house. So glad to finally see the back of those peach (!) walls.

Even OH, who is usually pulling his hair out by this point in the summer with the stress of work, has been relatively calm. We also managed an anniversary dinner this week (although gatecrashed somewhat by our daughter, who always wants to join in with a date night).

However, with football training sessions and dates for friendly matches now creeping into the calendar, Son#1 about to start revising for his GCSE pre-mock exams (I don’t totally get it either) and thinking ahead to a History trip in September and guitar lessons and Scout camps being booked in, it is starting to feel a little bit like the calm before the inevitable storm of the return to school.

The ‘big shop’

Thankfully, we no longer seem to have to do the annual ‘big shop’ of school uniform, new shoes, stationary etc. that has characterised many years of the last decade, or the mad scramble around during the last week of the holidays, Julia-from-Motherland style, to find any kind of uniform, in any size, anywhere. On the other hand, the stakes for the year ahead seem to be upping with each passing summer, with each new school year bringing a more important set of challenges for the children, new places for me to work out how to get to and an increasing number of competing priorities and MI5 levels of negotiation and planning required to navigate through it all.

Change in the air

This year I can also feel a change in the dynamics of the family, as Son #1 pulls away from the pack to spend increasing amounts of time on his own and often doesn’t want to join the rest of us for family movie nights, long walks with the dog or days out. He is nearly grown, and whilst that is really exciting to watch, it is a seminal moment in time and although I was anticipating it coming (and vividly remember my own desire to do my own thing) it has still somehow caught me a bit by surprise. Suddenly the prospect of A- Levels, University and beyond seems a lot more real and every moment spent with him ever more precious.

A new year

Having been at the very end of a very long tether by the time we broke up for the summer holidays, I am looking ahead to the new year with some real trepidation, knowing that I will inevitably be the one organising everyone else (because someone needs to know what’s going on), remembering to buy packed lunch supplies and watching a lot of football matches again in a few weeks time. Until then let’s kick back and try to enjoy some proper rest, relaxation and some time together before the outside world comes in again. 

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