So I’m sure you can tell from my last few posts that I’ve been in a strange mood. Nostalgic, sad, sentimental. Today the kids finished school. You would think this would make me euphoric. After all I hated home learning (see Hooked on Phonics; Monotony, the dishwasher and crumbs; Chaos, stimulation, noise and chalk boards; Home fracking learning, ). It was painful. For me and the children. It was a struggle to watch my kids miss their teachers and their friends. It was sad to watch them feeling anxious but not having the vocabulary and understanding to articulate those feelings. It was hard to watch them not meet their potential because they were just so confused and overwhelmed by what was happening around them. They were scared. And let’s face it – they were also lazy. But who isn’t right ? But something clicked in both of them a few weeks ago. Suddenly they went from struggling to thriving. And this is in no small part thanks to their fantastic teachers who continually believed in them and coaxed them to finally reveal their light. When I tell you that I feel sad about school finishing, it’s not about the lessons (see Sadness; Ennui, boredom, sadness and zoom doom). I feel deeply heartbroken that neither of my children will be taught by these teachers again. I feel sad that my days of speaking to these teachers and hearing their genuine affection for my kids is over. So I have been moping. And it has showed. For the past few days I have been feeling old and worn out. Drained. I have felt heavy and overburdened. I have talked about my Hagrid hair before (see The maintenance routine of an old librarian; Alone time for an introvert). Finally after a particularly painful session of combing my incredibly tangled hair, I was fed up. And I looked at my husband and said “chop it”. And chop it he did. He took scissors and cut my hair. Short. And I feel lighter. Metaphorically and physically. Here is to the summer.
