Waiting, Listening, and Ignoring the Idiots
This afternoon you find me sitting in the waiting room of the doctors. I imagine I'll be here for the best part of an hour. I'm not about to explain why either – other than letting on that this might be the start of a new chapter with our eldest. I guess I never wrote about the previous chapter either though (and probably never will). I figured bringing the iPad with me might be a good idea, so at least I'm doing something productive while sitting here waiting.
There is a man sitting opposite that keeps fidgeting. I imagine he's taking time out of his work day too, to be here. I don't think he brought anything with him to occupy himself while waiting. Ah. He's actually here with the woman that was sat two chairs away from him. Figure that one out. They have just trooped off to talk to somebody with their child... And now they are back. And sitting together. She is now issuing him instructions as if he's done something wrong. He's saying yes and no, over and over again.
In other news, my other half forgot to take the lunch I made her to work with her. I discovered it while making lunch for Miss 15 (I worked from home today), and started grinning. I had a text message on my phone – from my other half.
“I forgot my lunch”
“I know – do you want me to drop it in?”
“You haven't got time have you ?”
Ten minutes later I appeared in her office doorway, unfurling a small bag from my shoulders containing food. One of her co-workers started making disgruntled comments about the response she might have received from her own husband. I walked away smiling. She wrote me an email that I didn't see until half an hour later, while sitting on the bus with our eldest.
“Love you :)”
“Creep”
It's ridiculously hot again today. We had to walk through town to reach the doctors – only a 15 minute walk, but in 30C+ temperatures, it was no fun at all. I can't remember it being this hot during September in the past. On the way back we may well find ourselves buying milkshakes and ice creams.
(fast forward several hours)
I got home with our eldest a few minutes before our youngest returned from school. If I hadn't got home when I did, she would have been stranded on the doorstep, because my other half didn't get home until half an hour later. I'm not sure what the protocol would have been for that – given that the school transport has to see her being received at home.
My other half finally turned up at about 5:30pm, after something of an emergency at the school she works at (which of course I can't tell you the story about). A few minutes later she realised one of us should have been at a school function to hear about some kind of re-organisation for our middle daughter. Guess who drew the short straw for that.
So for the next hour I sat in the school hall with a few friends, and listened to the faculty explain that the students will be streamed independently on key subjects this year, rather than across the board. Easy enough to understand, you would imagine. Apparently not for the statistically obsessed prep school morons who imagine their children are boasting opportunities for dinner parties, destined for places at the universities that countless generations of the family have attended. Idiots. Why can't they just hope their children are happy, and entrust the school teaching staff with the job they have devoted their lives to?
Now if you'll excuse me, I'm making half a bottle of wine vanish while writing this, and then watching garbage on the television for the remainder of the evening.