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Happy families

Yesterday passed in a whirl of family and friends so I'm writing this sitting on the train on the way into London. It's freezing cold (has been for days) and thick fog - the drive to the station was a bit scary - perfect start to the working week! We had such a lovely day yesterday with Mum, Dad, Kerrie and Ryan all with us for lunch, followed by the last ever 'quick Sunday cup of tea pre (their) slightly crispy roast chicken dinner because they stayed longer then a they intended to' with Sharron and Simon before they move to Leicestershire. We are going to miss them being just round the corner.

I spend most of my time talking about Abi and Izzy on this but for a moment a word on Kerrie. She's turned into such a lovely young lady (albeit in her mind not so young... "I'm going to be 27 this year" shock, horror!) and seeing her and Ryan together and so happy is great. You know they are grown up when they appreciate what's going on in other people's lives as well as their own and gone are the days where a conversation is a game in 20 questions and avoiding a yes / no answer! After lunch I was getting ready to go for a walk and while Izzy and Glenn settled down to watch (more) rugby, Kerrie and Abi came with me. We walked and talked, with Abi running on in front with the dogs and had a proper, quite deep conversation. It gives me hope that as we head rapidly towards puberty and all the fun that will bring for Abi and then Izzy, speaking to Kerrie now reassures me that they will come out the other side as people we might want to know!

If there was an appointed entertainer yesterday it was Izzy. I made a Banoffee Pie (and didn't do a bad job despite my family being highly sceptical initially) and Izzy had the left over pasty. Initially it was to make her own little creation, but she took it to a level only a child brought up with play dough could reach, and turned it into an art form. At one point she made and enormous nose and with that came a whole comedy speech. I'm not surprised she's currently a bit miffed that for the school play this year Year 4s aren't allowed to audition for the main parts - as she rightly pointed out - Abi's not going to go for them is she?!

The ongoing debate in the house also guide all this merriment is what school. Like every other household with a year 5 child, the decision about the right thing to do re schooling is an absolute minefield and I wish it were more straightforward. For us continuing in the private system means a huge financial commitment and limits my choices about what I then choose to do for work. We also have 2 very good state comps on our doorstep and so their is a choice, and a good one, for us. In a perfect world it would be a no brainer and we would just pick the private school most suited to them but the world isn't perfect. I desperately want to consider some different work options which will bring a different level of pay, but I'm worried that I will limit their choices if I do that. On the other hand Abi is adamant she wants to go to the local comp because she has no desire to be in school on a Saturday or to have to consider flexi boarding. Izzy wants to go to Lord Wandsworth because it has a picture of a horse in the brochure. Glenn also wants them to go to LW because one of the Dam Busters went there. You'll notice no one is thinking about the educational benefits of any of these options! I think we have to go and visit some of these places and decide what's best for all of us - in both school and more broadly in how we live our life together. Given Saturday was spent bombing round Salisbury Plain on their motorbikes rather than visiting the local theatre or whatever I' m not sure they are a slam dunk for private system anyway. Who knows, we just have to make the best decision we can at the time.



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