Good Luck Fellow Parents

Dah day dah!!

So it starts.

Six and a bit weeks (47 days if we're counting!) of no school run, no uniforms to be washed, no homework to be argued over.

I want to be bubbling with enthusiasm and affectionate anticipation.

I remember reading a Facebook post once about how we only get 18 of these summer breaks in a childhood. It made me feel sentimental and guilty in equal parts. 18 summers feels generous.

The big one has already discovered that legally she could leave home at 14…. bloody Google!!

If that's the case, I could have less than a handful left.

The truth is I'm not sure how I feel. Right now I could do with curling up in a ball and sleeping for at least one of those weeks!

Breaks in routine are tricky for our family. Expectations are almost always unmet. From all sides.

I confess I thought being a mum of two girls would be a lot more giggles and rainbow cupcakes than it is.

"I hate you! You are the worst mother in the world!" she says.

My foot is throbbing from where the purple electric toothbrush landed, still buzzing. The hallway floor is a sea of shoes. Rainbow coloured Smiggle bags circle me like hungry sharks. A grey dust bunny sticks two fingers up at me from the bottom step.

My daughter's feet poke out from the cupboard under the stairs. She has on tights that once were white. They are her trademark. Strong tanned legs always with a barrier against the world.

The house front door is open, letting in a slight breeze. There is a bright light shining from inside the dark cupboard where my child searches for a shoe that hasn't seen the light of day in more than 4 months. A flowery pink, scuffed to shit, too small shoe that she told me she'd never wear again the last time.

Her sister sits like an angel on the wall outside the house with huge Lidl bags-for-life overflowing with towels, buckets, spades, spare clothes, warm clothes, swim clothes, picnic and kitchen sink. Hair in pigtails. Feet shod.Teeth brushed.

"But you're the one who asked if we could go to the beach!" I sigh.

Good luck, fellow parents!

No doubt there'll be ups and downs but no matter what, memories will be made xxx