Raven mad

The delightful pedestrian* bridge over the railway line in Kilbarrack is but one stage in the mad commute-to-school odyssey.

Sometimes I find it extremely tough.
And strangely enough, it often seems to be on a Monday morning.

The alarm clock set for 6.30 am.
The military precision with which each of our minutes until 7.35 am is accounted for. Coffee and tea for us. Then tea and croissant for Luca. Shreddies for Mimi. Cheerios for Finnzy-Bob. How each of them has to be extracted from their warm bed (Mimi with a crow bar).
The school lunches for two. A quick shower for me. Getting all three dressed. Checking that everything is in the bag. Start the engine of the car 5 minutes prior to departure, to avoid the "shudder thing". Strap them all into their seats. Put the bags in the boot.

Monday morning, buy the weekly ticket at the station. Make the 7.45 train by the skin of our teeth. Undress the kids so that they don't overheat. Read the comics in the paper. Help them to wait until Grand Canal Dock, where they can draw their own comics in the paper.

Kilbarrack, and the Mimi obstacle course (she currently has 46 points) to the pedestrian bridge.
The crossing of Knackeragua from west to east. The scanning ahead of the two of them for dog shit every 5 yards.
The second obstacle course by the Fox and Hound pub (Mimi currently has 623 points).
The mystery short cut and the field with the tap-dancing sea gulls. And the Brent Geese (when in season).
The arrival at the school. Dropping Luca off first, then Mimi.
The walk back to the station (the mine field has been mapped by then).
And 40 minutes of peace with the book of the day.
Then the walk to the Mistake Factory.
9.50 am. The truckload of useless emails.

And then the day starts.

Should you want to take a closer look at the raven, he's here. And no, I didn't get shat on this time when grabbing these shots.


* although I have seen some users attempt it while they were legless