When my first child started school two years ago, everyone said it would be a big change. I didn’t exactly disbelieve them, but really, I thought, how big could it possibly be? Unsurprisingly, I got it completely wrong. 1. School is just the next step after crèche, right? What I thought: She’s been in crèche for a couple of ...
Tiny grown-up girl, wrapped up in swathes of burgundy, you smile out, from deep inside. Oblivious to the over-size, just happy to finally be there. It's a hand-me-down from your big sister, but you don't mind. You've waited two long years to follow in her foot-steps; to follow in her uniform. Your smile - your face, your excitement ...
“Women have been conditioned to feel that it’s up to them to keep all balls in the air which in reality is just not feasible (not to mention unfair)” This week’s interview is with bestselling author Melissa Hill, who lives in South Dublin with her husband and four-year-old daughter. After an early career in banking, she ...
Our year of Friday mornings is over, and I'm trying to be a grown-up about it, but you're holding up better than I am. You love our routine almost as much as I do; we drop your big sister to school, then we wander slowly back, you holding onto the buggy, skipping along beside me. ...
I haven't stopped crying for two days - this is only slightly more crying than usual; fueled by goodbyes to teachers and to pre-school and to another chunk of childhood. I'm a crier. Anything sets me off. Some days, everything sets me off. Like yesterday. It started early, when a friend told me she is expecting her ...
I wrote a Mother's Day post for eumom and hadn't intended to write another one here, but then my six year old told me about a game they had played in school - all about mums. Taking her turn along with each of her classmates, she was asked to tell everyone what her mother's name ...
Today's newspaper was already on the mat when I arrived home last night, or rather this morning, just after 3am. I felt a surge of The Fear when I saw it there, reminiscent of the feeling I used to get fifteen years ago, arriving home from impromptu Wednesday beers and realising that there weren't a ...
"So how was school today, any news?" I asked, as I turned the key in the ignition. "Mum, I think Emily is moving to Wexford. She wasn't supposed to tell me, so don't say it to her mum if you see her at the school. Maybe you can ask her how she is and see if ...
When we finished school in 1993, nobody in Ireland had ever queued overnight to buy a house from the plans, Anglo was just another fairly innocuous bank, and Justin Bieber hadn't been born yet. We said good-bye to one another without the benefit of mobile phone numbers or email addresses to swap, and with no Facebook ...
This is how homework goes in our house: Me: Clara please can you come and start your homework Clara: (silence) Me: Please, come on, we need to get started Clara: In a minute mum Multiply this and various other responses by well, a lot, and fast forward to half an hour later, when we finally get to opening some worksheets. Me: ...