With only two weeks remaining of term, time seems to be accelerating as an ever increasing rate as we speed towards early retirement. In this weeks blog we look at boiler and dementia issues (!), welcome the kids home for a short window of time and plough through a social calendar like never before.
Boiler issues!
The week started with a logistical bang when we realised that Mum had not got any hot water at home and her boiler was playing up. To most households this would not be too much of a problem to sort out, but in a dementia house, it is not quite that simple! We called British Gas on Monday morning and they were great…and very dementia friendly. The engineer liaised with Jackie throughout the day, and somehow we got Mum to cooperate with proceedings and get things sorted. As it turns out, the boiler timer had somehow been switched off (!?!), the tank had been drained of water (!?!) and consequently the entire system needed a full airing. Who knows how that occurred- Mum couldn’t shed any light on it?!?
It all worked out well in the end, and despite the extra effort that it took at the time, we can see the funny side of the whole process. If it occurred in winter, it would have been an entirely different proposition and I don’t think that I would be able to maintain a similar perspective on it. We are just really grateful for the dementia friendly service we received and would be confident using the same engineers again in the future.
The girls are home
Our daughter and her partner came home this week for a few days, a visit that we all looked forward to and we all agreed was well overdue. We are all so busy in our everyday work lives that if we are not too careful, time slips by too quickly. Having the opportunity for them both to be home with us and to continue to work remotely is such a blessing and something that previous to Covid would have been something that we had not thought possible. There were so many detrimental effects of the pandemic, but flexible working has to be one of the significant advantages that I fear we would not have explored if it wasn’t for the lockdown. The working life that our children experience is already so different to our own and something that they seem quite comfortable with.
The visit is also ideally timed to coincide with our loft clearance. Georgia has a lot of nostalgic stuff to sort through and has to decide what to keep and what to let go. We have purposely left this decision making process up to her, on the understanding that anything that makes it onto the keep list returns to her house in Cardiff!
A busy week at work
What a week at work with end of term madness in the extreme. Prom on Wednesday, the school show on Thursday, sports day on Friday and a retirement event for a colleague at Chester Races on Saturday.
It was so nice to be able to share my last prom experience with Jackie. With her having worked at the school during the GCSE exams, she knew so many of the students, so together it was so lovely to share in their evening of celebration. It was all about the dresses, the suits and the cars…and they were all pretty fantastic! We had tractors, supercars, Bentley’s (obviously when so close to Crewe), VW split-screen campers and an amazing furry motorbike (best not to ask!). A lovely evening, with lovely people and further evidence of doing a good job in preparing our young people to take their place in society as well rounded citizens.
The following night we were out again- at the school production of “We will rock you”. If I am honest, I am not the biggest fan of musical theatre, but to watch what these young people can do, and witness their confidence to get up and sing and dance in front of an audience was a real privilege. Clearly something that I could not ever contemplate doing and I take my hat off to those people that can. The experience and memories that they will have gained from taking part in this production is priceless, and a further illustration that life is about the accumulation of memories and experiences, not the insignificant stuff or possessions that clutter our lives.
Sports day went by in a sunny blur, but was a beautiful reminder of what we have created at the school. 14 years ago when I joined the school, the annual sports day had reduced to a series of bland year group activities crammed into 1 hour slots at the end of the year. It has developed since then into a whole school event, where the entire school community comes together on the sports field for a day of celebration and competition. We have sound systems, BBQ’s, ice cream vans and all the sporting activities you could possibly want from a formal athletics meet, yet also including more inclusive events such as the coveted egg and spoon race and the ever popular tug-of-war! Events like these are a real test of a schools culture, with the opportunity for the kids to let us down in many different ways- but they didn’t! It was so nice that they all had a really fun day at the same time displaying the values that we have worked so hard to instil across the school. Education is so much more than a set of exam results- when I started teaching 30 years ago I set out wanting to grow young people into who I would be quite happy to live next door too- I think that work is now complete.
On Saturday we went to the races as part of a goodbye to a colleague who is also retiring this year. It is not something that I have ever done previously, and to be really honest, after such a busy week I was a little sluggish on Saturday morning to get going. However the sun was shining and we had a great day. We drank far too much, had a few wins and enjoyed the company of good people throughout the day. It was really nice to spend time with good people and something that we must not neglect in the future. Relationships like these are what makes a happy life.
Sunny Sunday
We had the rare opportunity to have a lazy Sunday after such a hectic week, and it didn't disappoint. Jackie had us up and out early before the day got too hot to get some more steps in as part of her 400000 steps a month challenge. We got the opportunity to have a walk in the beautiful Cheshire countryside, something that we will definitely miss when we relocate- although Cheshire is a bit lacking in mountains. We then revisited the past and spent the afternoon watching our son playing cricket at our local club. It really did take us back to the years of running him around to junior cricket and reminded us what a wonderfully social game cricket is. We had a great afternoon sitting in the shade of the boundary trees and grazing on the most spectacular picnic.
So that’s it, another week gone in a blur.
We have not had any meaningful updates on the house situations this week, so hopefully more of that next week. As the days tick down to our early retirement D Day, we get more and more excited and yet naturally a little bit more apprehensive about the great unknown’s. One thing is for certain, that day will soon come and we need to be ready to embrace it to the full.
Have a great week,
Richard & Jackie
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