Today

Y'know those days where you wake up and really, really consider just turning over and going back to sleep again?  Well, that's exactly what I should have done this morning.  Woke up, after a crap night's sleep, properly to go and find some sort of painkiller, any painkiller, in the house as had bad headache at 6am.  Found some, crawled back to bed (not a pretty sight I can assure you), whacked on an eyemask that says 'feck off' only to be joined in bed by my groper son, #3.  This led to a very tense, for me, 30 minutes as I was, ahem, nude.  I'd gone kickboxing last night and after shower it was all I could do to dry myself and fall into bed.  Now do you see why it wouldn't have been a pretty sight to see me crawling up the stairs??  Kids would need counselling.  Jesus, I saw myself in a mirror and I'm still not the better of it. 

Anyway, had a very rigid extra 30 odd minutes in bed and got up to start the day properly.  Told everyone to take it down a notch and we eventually made it out the door, jackets on and jumpers right way around by 8.10.  Wanted to be early as I knew the Divine Comedy were being interviewed on today fm! 

Got to first school and dumped, sorry, dropped # 1 off.  He told me we had a flat tyre.  Had to say I kinda had an idea as car was feeling funny, and had been ever since I drove over the fecking shore on the swords road.  Got out at # 2 and 3's school and checked tyre.  Flat.  Flat, flat, fucking flat. 

A lovely lady parked behind me, F, was very lovely and offered to keep me company (she could see 'something' in my eyes I think) and read the instructions of the 'inflate-your-tyre-with-a-can' can.  Then a man came along and actually attached said can to car.  The can of stuff emptied itself into the wheel but the wheel stayed FLAT.  Gave up and unloaded all the kids (huge excitement) and realised that whilst I had checked jumpers were on the right way and coats etc were being worn I had forgotten to check if bags went back onto backs after the coats did.  #3's didn't.  No lunch for him so.  Actually, Ms. Kelly is a lovely lady and sorted him out but he was a bit stressed (like I wasn't?). 

Got into school, deposited kids with their various teachers and went to pay the money I thought I'd paid in May and was quietly sorting out tyre (yay for Paul the mechanic - he might find it funny to scare the shit out of me everynow and then but he is a god amongst men) and chatting to F about how I was only ringing D. to make him feel as miserable as I was - Tis always me in a carful of kids who manages to puncture tyres, run out of petrol (embarrassing, right?) and the like.  We had a laugh just chatting and it was really nice to just get to talk as normally it's a hellohowareyait'shardworkthisdropoffpickupstuffisn'tit? type thing.  Then the sodding fire alarm went off. 

Was quite impressed at how calmly and quickly the school was emptied. 

Was even more impressed at how that didn't blow our timetable and all the school calander photos were taken bang on schedule.  The photographer D. (that makes me giggle, she'll know why) was snotty and watery eyed but did a great job of getting all the kids to look at her and smile.  At the same time, a bigger achievement than you'd think really.

Despite having a thumping headache (nearly wrote 'humping' there??), a borrowed boy with me and a punctured car I still had a great morning.  Every year I say I'm getting out of the P.A. - I only joined so I could drive Santa - but then you do something like this and you remember why you like it.  Have to say though, I feel I'm more a volunteer.  I watch the other mammies and they really really do go all out making the school work for our kids. 

So, to the P.A. at my school, I say THANK YOU.  From me, from everyone else.  They (the parents) mightn't know how much you do but I do and I think 'Thank the Maker' you do what you do.  Life could be very grey in our school if it wasn't for the P.A.

Off to bed now for me.  Have, as said previously, a bad headache and the medley of painkillers I've taken can only do so much.  Pain is still here, alive and kicking but .. . .  just so I don't forget.. . . if you should take, in far quicker succession than one should, take 2 syndol, 2 solpodeine and 2 panadol prepare for a very happy, chilled out and sleepy afternoon.  The kinda afternoon where you forget your friend's names.  Happy, happy afternoon to me.