Well here we are, the weekend before schools re-opening. To all my fellow students returning to their work or volunteer placements on Monday I wish you all the best. I unfortunately have not been called back, in a one-form entry school there just isn’t the space for anyone not on the payroll, and even of those that are most aren’t going back as before.

So, I have one child returning on Monday and honestly nothing could have prepared me for the internal struggle she’s been going through this past couple of days.
“Mum I can’t wait to see my friends and my teacher and play on the bikes!”
“Mum but I don’t want to go back on my own. I’m not going without my brother!”
“Mum I am going to be in school on my birthday, they will all sing to me!! Can I take sweets?”
“But Mum, I was allowed to take my cowgirl Jessie in before?”
This has been an endless cycle for the past several days. Her thumb-sucking has returned, and I just know Monday is going to be horrific! HORRIFIC!

Then there’s my son, absolutely adamant he wants to go back to school, but only if his friends and his teacher will be too. “They will not be there” I explain, he accepts and goes to his room to sulk. In response to his sister returning to school I’ve granted him complete autonomy over what topic we cover for his home learning- he’s picked the second world war- so in an attempt to keep his spirits up we have planned our first ‘home-school school trip’ to a local village that was abandoned during the war and still is.

I do wonder how much grey exists under the infinite amount of hair dye on my head after these past few weeks?!

This week has also been eventful for other reasons, I got a very exciting email on Wednesday which read “YOU’RE FAMOUS!” and so I was. This week my interview about The Learning Institute with Devon Live went… well… live. This took me back to when I was interviewed for the BBC Politics Show… maybe 14 years ago? This was much more successful; I still remember being shoved in front of a camera in a shrunken t-shirt my mum had shrunk in the wash and being mortified. No such cringey-ness surrounding this interview thankfully.

Then I submitted both my assignments last night, the last of the year. I cannot quite believe that’s my submissions for the year done. I treated myself to a much over-due celebratory beverage but if I am totally honest, I am now not quite sure what to do with myself? It’s going to be a long summer…