What A Week

It was always going to be an interesting week, and it was always going to be focussed around my big, brave, beautiful girl. So how come I didn't manage to record it quite the way I had planned?

On Monday my girl accepted her place at Glasgow University and applied to book halls. All being well she will be living in Murano Street Student Village. A very attractive building(?!) in Maryhill. The original design was that of a Norweign architect who had just built a similar women's prison! Oh the fun she will have there. Filling out the application showed how far apart my girl and I are when we discuss how communal living may effect her. But I did well to remember that my role is to offer information and advice and then sit back.

On Tuesday I was phoned by the school at 9.28am. An allergic reaction and could I take her away. In all of her years at school they have never asked me to take her away so I knew it was bad. It could have been much worse given that the school nurse had decided to give my girl her school kept medicines to take home just the day before. Thankfully she rarely empties her bag so they were available. I did remember to offer information and advice - I didn't remember sit back. Instead I offered and jumped in, in my worry - as did her father and her brother! Oh dear we got that one wrong.

On Wednesday the new computer went bang - yet again! I am getting so fed up with this. My girl panicked as she had some important English creative writing which had to be handed in before she left on Friday and how was she going to gain access to it? We solved the probem and then offered more advice for the future and stood back to let her sort out the issue of accessing the work.

On Thursday I sat down in the allotment and gathered my thoughts. My eyes are not playing ball, but the calming atmosphere of the soil worked its magic until my boy phoned to say he was home and the burglar alarm was going off so he wasn't going in the house.

On Friday my precious girl had her last day at school. Her emotions were all over the place. A champagne breakfast at a pal's house followed by a goodbye breakfast from the teachers and then off to North Berwick beach to blow it all away. Once again I offered advice and sat back anxiously awaiting her return.

A new phase, a new challenge, a moving on up - there can be nothing more terrifying yet so very exciting.