By the time 6pm hit on Monday the scooter and the balance bike were both upside down in my hallway, the sofa had been made into a camp and there were rice cakes all over my kitchen floor. It was also day 5 of the incessant non-stop grey cloud over the east coast of Ireland when the news never stops telling me that a heatwave is gripping Europe, including my previous home in Bromley, London.
Why is the weather so bad here? My husband is in London right now where it hit nearly 37 on Monday. He is moaning about how hot it is. I’m not asking for temperatures over 25 degrees but I would like to see the sun and the blue sky at some point in the months of June or July. I don’t think that is asking for too much.
I was in the car the other day and for some reason was listening to an Irish channel and not BBC Radio 4 and the presenter actually asked, how are you all getting on sleeping in this heat. Oh, how myself and my eldest daughter laughed. How we laughed! Perfectly fine thanks, with a duvet and a blanket. It’s not hot. It’s mild.
Do you know what hot is? Hot is doing the school run in 30 degrees which is what I used to do in East Dulwich. I didn’t drive then and the children were small. So I’d pop one of the babies (there was always a baby) in the pram in just their nappy and walk to school with the other children, trying to get in the shady parts on the street. I’d have to put some ice- packs in the pram beside but not touching the baby. Stop saying it’s hot, television people. It isn’t.
That is the other thing about London – the state schools do not break up until mid – July, heatwave or no heatwave. Whether they get any work done is another matter. If we hadn’t not moved to Ireland my eldest son, who has been off school here since the beginning of June, would still be in the school until the 23rd of July in London. You read that right. The 23rd of July. So instead of being in school for an extra six weeks he plays golf or tennis. I feel he owes me.
Anyway, thanks for listening there. I really have to say it. What kills me is that this is your ordinary life if you live in the south of England, which is not that far away. You are doing the laundry (even the towels dry in under an hour if you get them out on the line first thing, which I always did) and doing the shopping and it is sunny outside. I never wore a coat between June and August. I didn’t have to get on a plane and spend 1000s of Euros for this weather. It was just there, in my back garden and at the park.
So here I am now. In the grey. Why is it always grey? I thought to myself on Monday this is not going to be a holiday. This is an endurance test.
So a few words of advice for anyone willing to listen, which will not be many. My children are spread out between 15 down to 3. That means one gets up early while the others sleep in. However I have heard parents say that children who should be sleeping in like to get up and ‘go on screens.’ This should be discouraged. What they are doing there is waking themselves up in the hope of playing some Call of Duty at 8am. I don’t think so.
Children should earn their screen time. They should get it when it suits you, not them, and if you are like me, you will want a rest in the afternoon. Therefore I try to push screen time back until at least after lunch.
So when some surly child appears at 8am, (I’ve been up since 6) say brightly. Good morning I am so glad you are up as I need help cleaning the toilet. Then proceed to get some gloves and brushes and the cleaning products and hand it all to your child. Now this may provoke ‘push back.’ Demands will be made for Switches, PlayStation, or plain old fashioned TV and of course the wretched mobile phone. If you ignore this pushback for a few days in a row and insist on the toilet cleaning, you will find as surely as night follows day that no one gets up so early again.
Overall we must try not to let the whole show fall apart over the summer – although it is tempting to not be bothered. I insist on a little maths being done as well as reading. My middle child finished Under the Hawthorn Tree and is now on the Wildflower Girl. Another sure sign I am in Ireland. Goodness If I read that Carrie’s War with the crazy plot line one more time I think I’d cry.
For those who do have little ones or are grandparents, Libraries Ireland are running the Reading Adventure scheme, “Summer Stars.” More information can be found here. If the children read a few books no matter how short then they get some prizes or stickers etc. My 10 year old seems to enjoy it. We must try to keep the children reading.
Where was I. Ah yes the mess. There is just so much more mess and more meals and they keep asking me where their clothes are. Yesterday I was asked where a very specific Lions t – shirt and tennis skirt was. I call this clothes terrorism. In fact the children often walk past their father and upstairs to me to ask where such and such is, or some other question. Why? Why not ask him? I’m just bamboozled by it all.
Anyway, don’t worry about me dear reader. I’ve a few trips planned here and there and I know the sun will come out between 3 and 3:15pm some Saturday afternoon. I’ve marked it in my diary. I’ve survived 15 previous summers with children, although only one of which was in Ireland. And the good Lord knows I can survive this one. This is where I have to leave you, as someone is asking me where their t – shirt is.
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