We have kick off

We have moved into the Summer Holidays. This year feels so different from last year. Last year I was facing redundancy and was on the lookout for a new job. By God's grace I had landed upon one and was about to accept it when some issues caused me to restart my hunt and I ended up in my current role. It is going to be a year in this job and it has been the most exciting and unique experience. This year is also unique in the fact that are no grandparents to be around and add to the life and joy of the days. We have always had K or my parents through the summer months. But this year without any of them, it will be different.

Pumpki's holidays started from Monday. She had a nice relaxed time just lazing around. She was a bit clueless without her sister, but was also determined to not do anything constructive and literally stare into space than be productive. We let her be because as she claimed it was a break finally after all the days of work. K did take her for cycling rounds in the neighbourhood and it was an amazing fun time for her.

Once Chiyaa's holidays started on Wednesday, it was the real deal. The alarms were promptly turned off. The wake up time pushed back. The girls slept like babies till 11am. But then lacking a proper motive and anything motivating, we can become restless and annoyed. And I could see that happening with Pumpki. Since it was day3, she was getting to the point of being bored. That's when I penned some mandatory activities which included reading, exercising, practising their instrument and generally tidying up their room. This was met with huuuuugeeeeee protest. And the protest was met with just as repressive telling off. There were lectures dished out by K and me. There was the air of resentment but I think eventually they saw the point. By evening as we were watching a documentary on TV, they realised the point of the diatribe. Peace was established, it was decided to follow a routine from next day.

Today, the girls have been cleaning their room. They have been playing with each other. They have been generally productive and peaceful and relaxed. Week 1 day 4, all seems calm on the front :)

Upcoming holidays

 The summer holidays are upon us again. In a week, the girls will finish their current year group and settle down for six weeks of relaxation. The last week at school has been madness, to say the least. Chiyaa has three days of summer school in a maths-focused school. She gets to be there and visit the city university and make a trip to a maths museum and activity centre. It is a huge opportunity. But it is also a whole lot of things to keep tabs on. Have to be mindful of what she's doing when, any changes in pick-up, selecting her meals on the days out, to name a few. She has one day of acting in a play by Shakespeare. She needs to be dropped in early and picked up late on the day. We made all the arrangements but in the midst forgot to buy tickets for the show itself. Got that sorted and now even we are all ready for the show!

These are secondary school challenges; primary is mayhem on another level. Last week, day one, Pumpki has a trip to a local bookstore as part of her school book club, then a ukulele performance in the afternoon, and I have to remember she's going to go in non-uniform to celebrate 400 years of the city.  Tuesday, it's tug of war, hence PE kit. Wednesday, it's water fight in PE kit and a change of clothes. Thursday, non-uniform again and board games day, so send her with games. And phew, Friday is one normal day!

All this with work and the heatwave has kept us on our toes. But the pang is the absence of parents. For the past three years, my parents were here. They added a degree of calm, love, joy, and happiness, which seems to be missing. It all seems boring without them.  There is an undercurrent of something not quite fulfilled. Looking forward to the  bittersweet six weeks 🥹