Ahead Of The Game

After the day at the allotment, it was nice to go to Mum's yesterday and have dinner cooked for me. It was nice also to have somebody else do the dishes. Being a full time working Mum, there is no such thing as a 'day off' and even with having a fantastic husband around who's equally adept in the house with all things domestic and all things parental, it's just a welcome break to visit the parents and eat food you enjoyed as a kid...

... and isn't it funny after years away from home, Mum's roast potatoes still taste exactly the same, and to me, the BEST in the world ... and I can NEVER duplicate them... and how my children prefer MY roast potatoes and think they're the best in the world?

Following dinner we headed into town to buy the children's school supplies for next year. Usually I'm zipping around town in the last week of August fighting the masses of every other mother who has also left it to the last minute. Amongst underbreath hisses of 'why didn't they do it earlier in the summer holidays?' and 'why are they out on Saturdays, they could come out mid-week as us working mothers only have Saturdays to browse the shops', I realise that the majority of those mothers are in the same boat as me - full time workers with no time to shop earlier and no money to do it with.

This is why I love my Mum so much. Well, I love her for multiple reasons but bless her bypassed heart, she has paid for ALL their new scholastic supplies, uniforms, backpacks and lunchboxes. This is the first time in five school years I've been ready for the new term before the old one has ended. Apart from jumpers and shoes, but they're not being bought yet as it's inevitable the little treasures will grow during the summer and head up a size.

And the thought of returning said items in August with all the other mothers bustling through the crowds, when they really should have done it earlier... well... perish the thought!