When E and I first lived in Singapore, the school our children were at introduced a “1:1 Laptop Scheme” for every child in Oldest Daughter’s year group. Under the terms of this scheme, the parents of each child were ‘required’ to provide a £1,000 MacBook (only MacBooks, and only MacBooks of a certain spec were […]
Tag: marriage
1989
I remember 1989 clearly. It was the year I started at University (the place that E and I would meet the following year) and danced the nights away to Ride on Time and Like A Prayer in the Student Union. It was my gap year and I was lucky enough to live in Paris for […]
Two Sides
“There are always two sides to every story…” I’ve said it myself a few times, and most of the time it’s true. It’s also an underlying assumption about any relationship breakdown. As a result of this, even though everyone I’ve spoken to agrees that E’s behaviour has been completely out of order, an unspoken question […]
Pigeon
There’s a phrase I love about pointless arguments: “Never play chess with a pigeon: the pigeon just knocks all the pieces over, then shits all over the board, then struts around like it won.” Looking back on some of my recent communication with E, it seems strangely appropriate. These days communication between E and me […]
End of Term Report
Last Friday marked the end of the first whole school year that the kids and I have done on our own. Looking back, I’m incredibly proud of my little gang. This time last year we were still struggling in the wake of E’s leaving and trying to get used to being a family of five […]
Work
Working full time, after 18 years out of the workplace, has been a brilliant but, at times, slightly strange experience. I know lots of women can find being at home with their children very stressful, whilst others can find it very boring and not challenging enough – but I absolutely loved it. I loved being […]
Picture Perfect
Last Friday provided two pictures that contrasted sharply, and beautifully summed up how my and E’s lives, and perspectives, have changed over the last 18 months. Friday was Youngest Daughter’s Year 11 Prom. Like Oldest Daughter’s moving into University for the first time, this was another moment that I had just assumed E and I would […]
Bad Day
I’ve had a few days this week where I’ve felt really down about everything. It’s so frustrating when these days hit – it’s bad enough what E did, but the fact that it’s still hurting and upsetting me 18 months on just feels unfair and makes me feel like I’m being self-indulgent – surely I […]
WhatsUp?
Communication with E seems to have reached a new low recently. It seems that he has now stopped replying to my emails. He’s never answered a text and he refuses to speak to me, so email was pretty much the only way I could communicate with him about the kids and money. Now he’s not responding […]
Old Normal
Watching Youngest Son watch the football the other night, made me realise two things; firstly how much has changed, secondly how little has changed, since E left us. Whilst the kids and I have experienced a seismic shift emotionally, and in terms of our family dynamic, the fact is that in terms of our environment […]
