I’ve had more time than I normally do with my Master C, who is four, over the past couple of Summer months. We have been to many playgrounds, movies and shopping centres, where he, being a very social creature, inevitably meets new ‘shriends’ (friends). What I have found incredibly interesting is observing the manner in … Continue reading Early Introductions
So this week is a bit of a big one for me. I’m turning 40 tomorrow. Whilst I haven’t yet fallen victim to the melancholy that a birthday of this magnitude can conjure, I am acutely aware that I’m about to take a flying leap into the ‘middle aged’ bracket. I remember as a teenager … Continue reading Middle Aged
Students had a needle at school recently. What a production! I know they are young, I know it’s scary and I know there is the element of mass hysteria to consider. But seriously? It is a tiny little jab. A minute piercing of the outer layers of skin. So much drama. Not just from the … Continue reading Sharp Reality
The reason I initially started writing about my sister and her wife going to antenatal classes is completely different to the story I ended up writing. That quite often happens with my blog. This time I think it was actually on purpose. Sometimes I feel like the stories I write about are too ‘heavy’. I … Continue reading Antenatal Classes
Never did I ever imagine walking into my bathroom after being hollered at, to find a four year old standing bent over with a dirty, soiled bottom and his whole 'nether region' facing up in the air unashamedly towards me. Never did I ever imagine having conversations about making sure the skin underneath the tip of the … Continue reading Toilet Humour
She stood out, not just for the time of day it was, but for the location we were in. She was a young, attractive mum, probably late twenties, dressed in a dark blue sundress, matching summer hat and white Converse sneakers. The bark-covered ground was wet and boggy which I thought mustn’t have been great … Continue reading Tough Gig
‘High school is more stressful than it looks in the movies…’ ‘Lack of sleep and lengthy assignments don’t mix well…’ ‘With a mixture of excitement and curiosity, we say hello to our future…’ These are some of the many words of wisdom that our 2018 Senior students bestowed upon the rest of the school at … Continue reading Final Assembly
Being a parent changes your perspective in ways you can’t even imagine. It’s funny how we can be so blasé about issues until they enter our direct sphere of influence. A class discussion arose recently during a History lesson with my Year 7 students. We were studying a unit on Ancient China – and as … Continue reading The Ties that Bind
As I’ve previously mentioned, my inclination to escape the family tradition of being a teacher was strong. I was young, as far as I knew, straight, and highly motivated at the age of seventeen. Such a different person to the near forty-year old mother of five I am now. I would still describe myself as … Continue reading Public Relations
It’s 4am and I can’t sleep. Miss L, who is one, has had an unsettled night and is currently occupying my side of the bed. She is a terrible, restless sleeper and she has been ‘spoilt’ by being allowed to sleep against me since birth. I know, I know, I can sense the eye … Continue reading Party of Five
