Not The End!

Finally, the long summer holidays have arrived. Sadly, no one told the sun and it appears to have packed up its belongings and gone on a holiday of it's own leaving us with some rather lovely grey clouds that look (in the words of Miss. D) grumpy and which seek only to share their misery by weeping upon us at every available opportunity. I cannot tell a lie though, I was somewhat grateful to the grumpy clouds for getting sports day cancelled last Thursday; there's nothing quite so bad as having to endure an afternoon of non competitive sports. Well there is something worse and that is enduring your child's final day of primary school on just two hours sleep.


Yes, you read that right, two hours sleep. Me not being able to sleep is a real rarity. My head hits that pillow and I am gone, off to the land of nod (as my dad would say), but last Thursday night, or perhaps that should be Friday morning...anyway, not important, I just couldn't sleep, I felt so sad and worried for Miss.L. You see, Miss. L had spent quite a few weeks being quite sad about school saying she felt left out and, well I just kind of thought, she's her own worst enemy this is all in her head. That was until I dropped her at school for her BBQ and saw it for myself. The dynamics had changed, something the teacher had noticed on their weekend away. Miss. L decided there and then she wasn't going to go to the leavers do and seeing how hurt she was, I agreed. What is the point of going to something when you're not going to be comfortable. Anyway, long story short, I do not function well on two hours sleep, my peopling skills are absolute zero, possibly even in negative figures. Frankly, I do not want to see people, speak to people or be around people, hence by the afternoon and all the drama of leaving primary school, I was done and pretty much managed to offend every single person in the entire world. I should probably be locked in a padded cell when exhausted and just left to try and catch up.

And whilst we're on the subject, what on earth is the big deal about leaving primary school? I'm sorry, I just cannot get on board with all of this. A leavers service or assembly is lovely, but do you really need a limo and a big organised event on the last day? I'm fairly certain the world has gone a little bonkers crazy and we are raising a generation of children who are going to expect cheering, bunting, singing and dancing every single time something significant happens in their lives.

Woo hoo! You got a bus on your own...get the confetti out!

We live in an age where nursery schools hold 'graduation ceremonies' and primary schools have bloody proms (or the like). Parents go to these events and vow to one another, 'Ooh yes we'll stay in touch and of course the kids will remain friends'. No they won't! They may remain in contact via social media, but for most of them, that is as far as it will go. By the end of their first week at secondary school they will have moved on and made new friends; by the end of the first year, it's unlikely they will have spent much, if any time with their old cohorts. As for the mummies...unless you have forged a deep and meaningful friendship, beyond gossiping at the school gate (we all do it), you are very much out of the picture. You will not make new mummy friends at your child's secondary school, because that is just not cool at all! I'm all for having a wee celebration, something quiet and understated; it is after all the end of a chapter, but it isn't as big as people are making it out to be, our kids still have at least five years of school ahead of them.

When they reach the end of secondary school they will have their 'real' prom. The one that actually means something, the one that celebrates the achievements they've made throughout their school career. I confess this has taken a while to adjust to. When I was growing up proms were things seen only in American films and TV series', but I get how significant they are for sixteen year olds. They are leaving education as they know it, some will remain and do 'A' Levels at school, others will go to college, and others may choose an apprenticeship, but for all of them it is a time of huge change. They are becoming adults, the world will treat them differently and have different expectations of them; the world will not pat them on the back and celebrate their achievements, it will just expect them to get on with the job in hand, whatever challenges they may face, good day or bad day. So for our Year 11's, prom and all the fuss that goes with it is a celebration of the progress they've made and the journey into adulthood that lies ahead of them. It is hugely important and hugely significant and quite frankly, given the pressure on them to achieve the best possible grades and the endless testing, they have well and truly earned their prom.

Miss. L has left primary now. She didn't go to her leavers do. She never wanted to anyway. People said she would regret it, but the truth is, she won't. Her sister left the same school some years ago and has never looked back, in fact she really doesn't like having to return to it. Not because she didn't enjoy her time there, she's just made new friends and well, grew up and moved on. When I speak to other people, no one seems to really remember their primary school days. I liked primary, but I too never looked back, and my significant school memories are those from my secondary school days. For now, we are going to enjoy our summer holidays (I'm hopeful the sun will return) and look forward to the making of new friends and new memories next school year.

Oh, and I'm going to jolly well make sure I don't have anymore nights of only two hours sleep 😉