Black and Blue!

I literally am. Some days I'm sure you're trying to kill me! I don't think, Number Two Son, you meant to fall asleep the other night without switching off your TV. You probably didn't think that I would come into your room without turning on the light, and that you didn't realise that spreading the TV cable across your room could possibly be dangerous...

The bruises will fade soon.

Boys Will Be Boys...

Well, this week will always be remembered as the week you went in the pool. Nothing out of the ordinary? This wasn't any old dip. No, this was the school pool, out of hours AND in full school uniform. OK, it was quite comical. You didn't actually swim - just took a dip up to your waist (along with two school friends) after being dared by some workmen who were nearby fixing a window. You were very lucky to get away with some school detentions - I was sure you would be excluded for this! So Number Two Son I hope you've learned your lesson this time. Will it calm you down? I don't think so. I think some children are put on this earth to give parents grey hairs, but they usually turn out right in the end. I will probably never admit this to you face to face, but I remember doing something very similar when I was around the same age - but I was lucky, I didn't get caught...

Working life

I always knew it would be hard juggling a working life and a home life, and whatever I do my children will always be my first priority. So why on earth did I have to put gaining a degree into the equation as well?! I worked out that I would be doing the final year of my part-time degree at the same time my eldest son would be doing his GCSE exams. We would be able to offer sympathy and understanding to each other, I thought. I would know exactly what he was going through because I would be in the same place. Some luck! Here I am, approaching my final year out of six and in a state of panic over marks and essays. Number One Son, a fully-fledged teenager, is more concerned with girls and sport than coursework and exams! So, one more academic year for both of us. It will be interesting to see what it brings. Will it be a race for the highest grades, or just a race for the finishing line, with both of us saying, It's the taking part that counts, not the winning.'...

Hello there...

Dear son,

life can be very hard sometimes - especially when you're approaching your teens. I know this, and I know that you rage against it. You can feel it hurting and you just can't stop it. Then we, your parents, come along and you want us to make it better. But often we make it worse. And I'm sorry. I'm sorry when I shout at you when I should be hugging you. I'm sorry for the terrible things I say when I should be saying, 'it's OK. I love you.' Instead, what you hear is 'I hate you,' even though those aren't the words that come from my mouth, aren't the words I mean. I promise , from now I will try harder to understand what you are going through. Not to jump in and say I know, when I obviously don't, but I promise to try and listen. I can't say the rest of your growing years will be easy, and I won't get it right that often. You, your brothers, your Dad and me, though, we all have something in common. Something to cling on to when emotions are high. Something to celebrate when things are going well. We are a family. As long as we remember that, as long as we are together, things will turn out OK in the end,

Mum