The school holidays are bursting with exciting things to look forward to. Trips away with the family, lazy days in the garden, no school run or homework to contend with. It's a blissful time. Well almost. You see there is one thing that never fails to drag me and my happy go lucky mood right down to the depths of silent sulks. New uniforms. Despite being a ‘mature’ mother of two I still get butterflies (Florence Flutterby style!) when I see all those ‘back to school’ signs up and down the high street.
So this year I thought I would get ahead of the game and start my new uniform quest on the last day of term. Yes, very clever, I know. Get it out of the way then forget all about it until the holidays are over. A uniform free summer break, way-haaaay!
So I smugly trotted down to the dreaded shop when everyone else was in the park, basking in the sunshine and celebrating the start of the holidays. He he. Of course, had I known that would be one of the few warm days we were going to get then maybe I would have thought better of it...No matter though because the shop was eerily (but cheerily for me) empty.
I usually only see it when it's rammed and rocking with everyone and his dog, a toxic combination of long queues and short tempers. Precisely what I was trying to avoid. I got a few items but not all as they didn't have them. My quest was not over but I could still rub my hands at this small but significant inroad.
Fast forward five weeks and I still haven’t ticked all the things off my list! “It’ll be here next week”, has been the stock phrase. In the mean time, I have embarked upon the worst task of all. The shoes. It was an hour and a half of a job thanks to dodgy measurements, low stock and a trainee who had my sympathy - for the first hour at least...
So all in all, I have had a summer peppered with trips to the shops to retrieve phantom uniform deliveries resulting in an empty children's wardrobe and a half ticked checklist. So much for getting the job done early doors. Sigh.
It’s official. Stuff the queues. Next year I’m going to be a last minute mum!