Despatches from a mother who started late (and is running to catch up)

In the news....

Press and radio coverage of this site from around the UK

Nursery landmark

Beanie started nursery at the local primary school last week. She already goes to private nursery one day a week - but somehow we both knew this marked a turning point. On the day in question, I woke at 5am and moped around the flat remembering how much I disliked my own experiences of primary school. But, of course, that kind of retrospective never makes things better, so I rang a friend. Several cups of coffee at the Edinburgh Filmhouse later, things weren't looking so bad. The sun was shining and we went on to the Princes Street Gardens - not looking at their best with all the tram work nearby - but it was a chance to eat icecream and chat, while our children played on the climbing frames. By then it was nearly midday and we could put off the evil hour no longer. We all walked down to the school together. My stomach was rumbling - but not with hunger.

As we arrived, we discovered it might have been easier to enter Fort Knox. A good sign - a nursery should be well-defended. But by the time I figured out how to get in, we were nearly late. Cue undignified huffing, pushing and panting as I squeezed the Tank (our double buggy) through the final set of gates. After they let us in, we met Beanie's key worker and hung up Beanie's fleece on the peg someone had labelled with her name. Beanie looked around, saw the other parents had all left and assumed a distant expression that seemed to indicate she wanted me gone too, in case I embarrassed her. I knelt down to her level, put my arms around her and whispered into her shoulder (it was meant to be into her ear, but I was so nervous I missed her ear and spoke to her shoulder) and said: "Good luck." She dropped the mask of adult competence for a moment, turned away from the bucket she was filling with sand, and said: "Don't worry, Mummy. It'll be alright." I got to my feet and left, so nobody would see I was crying.

Posted 30 August 2009 12:26