So apparently it’s the Easter holiday? I haven’t done much in the way of life updates on my blog, lately, because honestly? We have very little to share!
But then I remember that I started my blog to capture our lives and it can’t always be adventures and travel, can it?
Facebook likes to remind me that at this time of year two years ago, we were in Dubai. Before that we were in Jamaica. Oh, and let’s not forget the Easter we were in Florida, the year we went to Jordan and then there was Florence. And one year we spent Easter in Mauritius.
Well, this year, we were in sunny (but freezing) Lancashire. So strap in and hold tight kids, because our Easter holidays have been LIT. *cough*
Easter? Revision, revision, revision
I cannot be the only parent of a teen in Year 11 who is just *over* school.
Flea has already completed coursework and exam prep and taken a full set of mock exams. To now have to revise for a second set of mock exams seems pointless to her, and she’s struggled to get into a good study routine.
Generally, though, she’s done a few hours of study most days, and seems to be covering most of the material. Flea’s school has been pretty good with giving the kids revision lists and tips, and she’s been meeting over Zoom every week with her maths tutor, because that’s her weakest subject.
I’ve decided that I just have to be a bit mean for a month and be the Mother Dragon. That means lots of grumpy wake-ups and withering looks every time I remind Flea to do X or Y, or get out of bed because she needs to study. Hopefully it will all be worth it once Flea gets her results.
But I do think this year has been tough on Year 11s. These kids missed half of Year 10 and most of Year 11, and now they’re expected to sit a series of exams, with no real clarity on what grades they might achieve, and what those grades will be based on? It’s a lot.
A bit of Easter holiday sport
The only respite Flea has had from revision, really, has been sport. She’s seeing her personal trainer twice a week, and this week saw the return of tennis lessons once a week.
Flea spent Friday in Yorkshire at a hockey day camp. Today she’ll return to her hockey club, which has extended the season by a month, and added lots of the girls into small teams so they can play in a summer league with other local clubs. She’s got another hockey camp this Friday, and her first summer match on Wednesday so it’s starting to feel quite hectic after a long few months of lockdown.
We did get one day in the Lake District but typically it was the gloomiest, coldest day of the entire Easter break. It was still lovely, though.
And lots of work
As for me, I am working. I’m currently working at capacity on writing jobs, and like all freelancers, I have a deep and abiding belief that if I don’t take on all the work I’m offered, I will die penniless and starving because nobody will ever hire me again.
So for me, the Easter holiday has been mostly getting up at 7am to work, and spending the day trying to balance writing work with social media work, supervising Flea’s revision and … that’s about it. Oh except for…
Fun toe surgery
Long-time readers will know I broke my foot more than a year ago, slipping over a tennis racquet on the stairs. In the process my toenail was broken and it took 9 months for it to completely regrow – and when it did, it was crooked. I’ve been grinning and bearing it for far too long, but a month ago it became infected (I suspect from kayaking in our local canal) and I had to bite the bullet and book in for surgery.
I won’t share a photo with you because I want us to remain friends, but it’s pretty gruesome for now.
The actual surgery wasn’t pleasant but it wasn’t as bad as I feared. But now I have to go the chiropodist twice a week for dressing changes, and I can’t shower, swim or kayak until it’s all healed up. The thing that I’m holding on to is that once it’s healed I might actually be able to wear ALL my shoes again, rather than the 2 extra wide pairs of trainers I’ve existed on for the past few months.
One day I will look back on this Easter holiday and be grateful I got to spend this quality time with my teen at home. Even if it was minus two degrees when I woke up this morning.
One day I’ll realise that simple days at home are just as good as luxury resorts in Jamaica, and Facebook won’t make me want to poke out my own eyeballs with a rusty spoon.
Just… maybe not today.
I very much appreciate your sharing. Like you, I wish there was a better way to make the pieces all fit better.