Over the past few weeks I have been particularly irked by the amount of people pre-empting the end of summer.
“I can’t believe the holidays are almost over, where has the time gone?” they all cry.
Despite my dislike of such conversations and wild attempts at dodging them, I sheepishly admit that I have had to agree during the few times I have been cornered.
The sad fact is that as an adult, everything whizzes by at 100 miles per hour. Probably because we wish most of it away. But in a child’s eyes, time is irrelevant. Children get up and do what they have to do, when they are told to do it. Eat when there is food on the table and go to their beds when they are taken up the apples and pears. They live in the moment, for the moment without consulting a calendar or clock. As a consequence the hours, days, weeks - and summer holidays - pass at a snail’s pace.
It’s because us mums and dads know precisely how many days (hours and seconds!) remain of the holidays that we have written them off when they’ve barely begun.
It is for this reason that I am always sketchy with the truth when it comes to dates and times with Martha. I want her to forget about school and enjoy the endless summer afternoons without worrying about how many sleeps there are until she has to go back to the classroom again.
How I wish I could jump back to that timeless zone of childhood fun! But, sigh, I’m an adult now and a reluctant one at that...Unfortunately adults must do the planning while children do the playing. So with that in mind and surrendering to the notion that yes, the holidays are almost over...perhaps you should take another look at our desks, chairs and accessories to help your little one settle into their new school year. There I go, mentioning the ‘S’ word again!
Hey, if you can’t beat em...