Cleaning the house is so much easier when there is no one else in it to get in the way. By eleven I had made beds, hoovered, swept the kitchen floor and hung out three loads of washing on the line. Pea and I had started making courgette chutney the day before and left it to stand in the vinegar for 24 hours. It needed boiling and bottling, so I left it simmering away on the stove and wandered up the track in search of a bowl full of blackberries. Even though it is only very early September, most of the blackberries have gone over or just gone. A few weeks ago, we couldn't pick them all as there were so many; the branches weighed down by the heavy clusters of fruit. Now the few that remain are beyond their best and taste watery, but stewed with half a Bramley I found in the fridge, they made a very respectable pie for tea. I wanted to make a good tea for the children to come home to, as I guessed H2 would hardly eat all day for nerves. I decided on salmon, boiled potatoes from the garden, vegetables and parsley sauce, followed by hot blackberry and apple pie and ice cream. I wonder if I will still want to cook like this when I am working? Best not to think about it.
By 3.20 I was standing at the door, eagerly awaiting their arrival home. I had been thinking of H2 all day and wondering how he was getting on. Going to senior school is one of the biggest changes in a young child's life. It is terrifying and exhausting but I was really hoping he would have had a good day and come home tired but happy. I heard the car pull up and the slow trudge of three pairs of feet on the track. There was silence and I realised that wasn't a very good sign. H2 appeared first; he looked fed up. Good day? I enquired. S'alright, he said, sighed heavily and then, God, I hate school, and went in the house. Oh dear. Pea walked down the drive with scarlet cheeks and black eyes flashing in her small face. Oh good Lord, I thought. She looked like she could throttle someone at any moment, anyone would do so I smiled and got out of the way. She is quite scary when she's like that. She mumbled something about school sucking and went indoors. Two down one to go. H2 appeared with a pale face and red eyes. My heart went out to him and I hugged him as the words he had held in all day tumbled in a rush to come out. It's horrible, he whispered. I was perfectly happy in my class and I'd filled in my book really neatly and then some random woman came in and said I had to move to a different class and I hate it, every body's really loud, I can't do my work properly and it's just awful. I held on to him and he shed a few quiet tears. The exhaustion is overwhelming as I remember. After a few moments he shuffled off to get changed and later I found his uniform in a corner of his bedroom in a ball. That's what he thinks of that!
Tea worked it's magic as we all sat round the table and they ate silently for a few moments. The day's events unfolded and there were one or two glimpses of hope among it all. The general feeling was that they wish they could stay home all the time and not bother with school at all. Sorry guys, that won't happen. Kind of wish it would myself though. H2 spent most of his evening watching telly and now and then getting up to give me a hug. Reassurrance needed. We talked when he wanted and I promised him that tomorrow would be better and Friday even more so. He went off to bed if not happily then at least a little calmer. H1 calmed down quite quickly and it transpired that he was annoyed because he has to do PE and they always do football, which he has no interest in whatsoever and would much rather do badminton. I reminded him that he had done extremely well in his first few GCSE's and should concentrate on them and not worry about PE. He was thrilled to get an A* in Resistant Materials, his favourite subject; a B in science which he loathes and a C in IT. Extremely well done young man. Now keep it up.
I hope your children are settling happily into school life and don't forget - it's nearly weekend! xxx
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