Lows and highs

The kids have been on the hot chocolate, Nobby and me are on the vodka again... that's a fair sign it's pelting with rain outside and we're all feeling the strain of the demise of summer. Even Tiggy is whining and restless; she's currently chasing an errant flea across her backside with her teeth, quite a trick if you can do it.

And not to be outdone, Lucky the Hamster has today taken it upon himself to chew up an entire loo roll innard, the same one he's been happily hiding inside and running through for a fortnight. Now it's just a pile of cardboard all over his wheel and he has nowhere to run to when Tiggy comes around, licking her lips.

Well, this has been coming on a little while I think, all the signs were there. Ever since the illegal Romanian satellite we've been tuned into for free pay-to-view TV was switched off last month, Nobby and me have borrowed the neighbour's box set of 'Boston Legal' for want of something to wind down with in the evenings. I have to say I am loving it; William Shatner still does it for me and he's clearly had an effect on Nobby who can be heard muttering 'Denny Crane' every time he walks past.

However, just last week we took to watching our daily fix *in bed on the laptop* rather than in the lounge. We've not watched TV in bed since we left the UK and it was really weird. But it did help me get to sleep after the crazy days at school; it's nice not to have to face the washing up or trudge the dog round the block once the titles appear. Just close the lid and close your eyes and try not to dream about Key Stage assessments or Curriculum conferences.

Today at school felt a little like drowning. Stupid me trying to teach Maths to the whole class and putting small plastic teddy bears in front of them to help the process. They enjoyed counting them out so much when I asked them to that they counted them out even when I didn't ask them to and you can imagine the rest. As a very wise someone once said, directing a bunch of small children is like herding cats.

I am not sure what they make of me really, giving out stickers one minute and making them practice walking in a line up and down the corridor 5 times the next (well, how many times to they need telling not run down the corridors? Perhaps I was supposed to be grateful they were running in from their break heading towards the classroom and not running screaming away from it...)

I do know one student and her mother was happy with the way last week went. In the flurry of attempting to release the right child to the right parent with all the right baggage and pictures etc on Friday evening one lady made her way through the throng to me and said,

'Thank you for making my little one's first week in big school go so well. You could probably use some of this...'

... and she thrust a large bar of Lindt caramel-laced chocolate into my hand.

See, I said this was the best job in the world.