Friday 13th March 2020

Day 2 of homeschooling is going well so far. All the girls seem to have embraced it (i.e. they’re pro-actively getting on with their work and I’m not having to nag them). I’m actually a bit concerned about how well they’ve taken to it, actually. K is now suggesting that she drops out of college and we sign her up for Oxford home learning instead, so we can travel. She’d like us to move to Cornwall, because it’s remote and she can surf. Thinking it through, I’m wondering if between global warming (risk of being washed away) and corona (if everyone else has the same idea about finding a remote spot, it’ll probably get quite crowded) we may be better off staying put!

While they were distracted I spent this morning clearing up the peppercorns I missed last night. Fortunately I managed to get most of them out of the dinner so that wasn’t a complete disaster - except that I now have to buy another box. Was hoping not to shop again until the madness has died down, although in reality no matter how much food I buy, A scale up his eating accordingly. He made himself noodles at midnight last night after I refused to tell him where I’d hidden the mars bars. I can’t believe I’ve outwitted him thus far!

Waiting for our Amazon delivery of masks so K can come for a dog walk although am nervous about how people might react. Am thinking a nice, remote, dog walk!

Z just asked me if, because she’s not at school, there will still be weekends?! Her logic is that the weekend is a break from school and work. Interesting thought. Maybe I haven’t got them studying hard enough after all! Spoke to R about whether we should go ahead with sports and social activities this weekend. He thinks I’m worrying too much and should follow the government guidelines - carry on as normal. Good job I didn’t mention I’m thinking of burrowing a basement under the house (at last I’ve found a use for the excess spoons we’re been acquiring over the years). I wonder if our landlord would mind.

Thursday 12th March 2020

Fun-packed day here... Yesterday K had a mild temperature, sore throat and was an unflattering shade of green so last night I called 111. After a brief conversation I was advised to home-quarantine her for 14 days. When I asked about the logistics for the family, the adviser suggested I confine her to her bedroom with the door closed and I leave her meals at the door. Maybe a bit extreme and a bit late considering she'd been cuddled up on the sofa with me until 10 minutes before I made the phone call! This morning I called B&Z’s schools and we agreed that keeping them home as a precaution was probably wise. By this afternoon, K was distraught at being completely confined to her room - she doesn't want to die. B was upset at having restricted access to her phone and having to do schoolwork despite being off school - she wants me to die. Z told me several times how much she misses her K, who normally confines herself to her room out of choice to avoid us, and that she doesn't want her to die. As I was fishing out the last of the packet of peppercorns I'd accidentally spilled into our dinner, A came to join in the fun and stated that only 2% of people die. Looked utterly horrified when I corrected him and said that, unfortunately 100% of people die. A moment later he realised what I meant, smiled and said "nope, 99.9%. I'm going to live forever!" I'm not sure I'll survive another 13 days of this!

Tuesday 11th November 2019

Today was going so well! I managed to avoid going to the gym this morning by arranging to meet J for coffee instead, then picked up A… & the dog and took them for a walk in the park. Just before we left home, I was checking to see if anything interesting was happening in the world (must remember not to bother) when A… came over, snatched my phone and said “enough with the news. It’s instagram for old people”. Not sure if that means he thinks I’m old, or not.

The afternoon school run was OK. As Z… had woken up with a headache I decided she should come home instead of going to M’s house for a playdate; managed to get through the car-park chaos quite quickly and was only 15 minutes late for B…. . Persuaded K… to walk up and meet us instead of waiting at the station so the whole round trip only took an hour. Both the littles still seem a bit unwell (wondering whether it’s better for me to wear one of the masks I bought from the hardware store or make the kids wear them) and needed to get rid of some of our mountain of bananas so convinced them that chocolate and banana pancakes would be nice. Ended up being a bit of a cookathon - somehow we’ve also accumulated 6 packs of cherry tomatoes, 3 dozen of eggs and a huge bowl of slightly squishy apples - so I made omelette for dinner and tomato soup for their lunch tomorrow while B… finally got to use the puff pastry she randomly defrosted last week and made apple puffs. While we were waiting for it all to cook I suggested we play netball in the garden, so I’ve finally ticked that off my list of promises to keep too.

Called the orthodontist and rescheduled yesterday’s missed appointment. No idea how I managed to forget, but they were nice enough and accepted my grovelling so will take B… after my ‘SoundBath’ session tomorrow. Quite looking forward to it - hopefully it’ll help me relax so the ringing in my ears stops, and if not at least it’ll drown out the noise!

Meant to take K… for a driving lesson, and I will, but life just seems to keep getting in the way. Tomorrow!

A… seems MUCH happier after our chat this morning. I feel so helpless sometimes and wanted to cry when he told me how scared he is living here. I thought he was joking when he said he misses living on a compound with security but after what happened in Aiya Napa I guess it’s understandable. It must be terrifying not to have any memory of it, although he thinks he has some odd fragments coming back - the problem is he isn’t sure what’s real and what isn’t. From other friends who’ve had their drink spiked it sounds normal but I don’t suppose that helps. I can’t believe he thought, even for a moment, that he might not have been drugged and was worried that his wild rampage was something in him instead. So that’s what’s been bothering him all this time and making him scared to leave the house - that he might be out and get into trouble without knowing what he’s doing. He’s such a kind and thoughtful young man and on the rare occasion he drinks too much he’s funny and tearful rather than angry; smashing the shop door was so completely out of character. Even the bouncer and shop-keeper said he wasn't behaving like any drunk person they’ve seen before (and I’m sure they’ve seen plenty). And as soon as A… was released from hospital and told what happened he went to make amends - he apologised to the shopkeeper and paid for the door to be repaired. Going back over it with him, I think he finally agrees that the bar owner who pressed charges was either involved or was at least taking advantage of the situation to make money. I mean, seriously, A… looked like he’d been held down and beaten up, his wallet and phone were missing and then this guy pops up without a mark on him and says A… attacked him. The poor kid; definitely not the kind of first holiday with his friends he’d been expecting. At least if it had happened at the end of the holiday he would have had some good memories instead of a week of sitting in a hotel room, nursing his injuries and waiting for a court appearance. Listening to him talk about it again, it’s no wonder he’s had such trouble sleeping over the last 6 months, although I had no idea he still worried that the bar owner might turn up looking for revenge after the judge threw his demand for 20,000 euros out. When I reminded A… of how sympathetic and understanding the judge and all the other people were, everyone except the guy who threatened him outside the court after he didn't get his windfall, I think he finally believed that it wasn't his fault, it wasn't personal and he was just an easy target in the wrong place at the wrong time. He definitely seemed more relaxed this evening than I’ve seen him for a long time. Well, at least he was until he left some chocolate buttons on the sofa and the puppy ate them!

Maybe it’s a good thing I haven’t been able to speak to R… today - he’d be lulled into a false sense of wellbeing by my positivity and may not worry so much about getting back in time for half term (not that I want him to worry but I miss him and want him home soon). I tried calling earlier but he’d been out playing in a golf tournament (a birthday treat from his boss) and was snoozing. The 3 hour time difference now means that by the time I get to the end of the day and want to chat (or vent) he’s asleep and by the morning I’m generally over whatever’s bugging me. I might start keeping a diary and send him the entries instead, but now I need to go to bed…

and Z…’s in my bed, so I don’t have to sleep alone!