Single Handed Again
I'm surprised the washing machine didn't spontaneously combust yesterday – apart from a pause when I took our middle girl into town with her friend for lunch, I washed load after load throughout the day. The dining table has vanished under pile upon pile of folded clothes, towels, and bedding.
I slept on the couch again last night – the younger children wanted to sleep in the tent in the garden. Because I'm one of those parents that silently worries about the kids without them realising, I slept just inside the patio doors in a sleeping bag on the couch. I slept well, but had a stiff neck this morning. I woke a little before them, and then as the sun came out heard murmurs and conversation from the tent. That was at 7am.
Since then my other half appeared, got dressed, and left to visit her parents again, and the younger kids have had breakfast, got dressed, and headed out to play with friends. The washing machine is running again, the wind is blowing outside, and I just have some ironing to do in order to re-pack for travel with work again this week. Oh – I need to go grocery shopping too – lunch food for the kids for the next few days. They break up for the summer on Wednesday.
Our eldest has already finished for the summer. She hasn't got out of bed yet (it's heading towards 10am at the time of writing). I'm worried about her – she's falling between the cracks at the moment – quiet, or argumentative most of the time. She's self defeating – whenever you try to spend time with her, she causes an argument to exclude herself again.
At least work next week should be fairly straightforward (aside from living in a hotel several hundred miles from home). The journey is already becoming routine – train to London, Underground to Euston, train to Preston, taxi to hotel. About 5 hours door to door. I'm leaving at lunchtime on Monday to avoid peak travel costs, which inflate the cost of the tickets by over 300%. Yes, you read that right.
I'm expecting one of the children's friends to arrive any moment. Apparently I need to drop her home by 1pm. I guess that gives me a window to get the groceries right there.
Ho hum. Quiet Sunday ahead I guess.