False spring

The other day Mr B and I saw reference to a BBC springwatch programme. "Hmm, not seen Springwatch for a while" he mused. Then we looked at each other. "Hang on - Springwatch? In September?" It seems the world has gone spring-crazy. Today, when gathering some vegetation for Katherine to decorate a cow with at school (don't ask) I spotted a load of crocuses in full bloom - dozens of clumps of them. Not that I'm saying the splash of colour is not welcome in my otherwise brown and green garden, but it's just a bit confusing.

Long day today. This morning Mr B and I were both up at 5am - him to shower, shave and shoot off to Paris to start his week's work, and me to lie in bed trying very hard to get back to sleep before my 7.15 really getting up alarm. Of course I got back to sleep at about 7.05. Still, I managed to bandage K's leg against the likely bumps she would get at school without sticking safety pins in her, which was a bonus given my tiredness (though I did manage to break one of my favourite plates later). Unfortunately, Katherine wanted me to come in with her to explain to her teacher what had happened... which is how I was caught and roped in to teaching Conor's class (6-9 year olds) English this year... It would just be an hour and a half a week or something, but still... And, much worse, the head is not sure she can get the College teacher to take the older class like last year - so I might have to do them as well! Teaching little kids funny songs is one thing, but 10 and 11 year olds means there'll be a curriculum, research, lesson plans. Gulp. So, let's all cross everything that the money and time is found for the College teacher to do it!

I'm trying not to remember that the bulk of my day was spent cursing the person who wrote the dissertation I was 'proofing' today. Really the only thing that could save it was a re-write - there were whole sections that were totally inpenetrable. With being tired from the early morning and (let's be honest) a weekend spent doing a little too much celebrating that Mr B was back, I had a hard time keeping my eyes open through it.... Anyway, I did what I could but only just managed to get it finished in time to dash out of the house to be only a few minutes late for a class meeting with Katherine's teacher this evening to talk about how things will be this year.

Tomorrow sees me up at the crack of dawn to drop the kids in garderie (pre-school care) and head into Castres to see what this teaching adults job at the Chamber of Commerce is going to be like. I have to sit in on a few sessions to get a feel for how things are done first. And then... relax.