Back to school

Yesterday I saw my baby, Miss Suzy Q No 2, heading off for her first day of matric, with yet another tear in my eye. (Yes, we had them very close together, so close that some people mistake them for twins.) It’s all passing too fast, but what a joy it is to see my youngest daughter striding off looking suddenly so grown up, tall and confident. I heard a lot of muttering about the cheeky Gr 8’s doing things she would never have dared to do or say to the matrics in her day, and great plans afoot for decorating the matric bathroom. Ah, status at last! She is in the buddy system, and has been assigned a Gr 8 girl to assist her in her transition to high school, and a pool party was held the day before school started to introduce them to the campus. (Just threw that in, it’s another word I detest, used in a school context, but it seems to have caught on, so I may as well learn to go with the flow.) A far cry from my first day at high school, when I was dropped at the gate of a new school where I knew nobody, as we had, yet again, changed neighbourhoods. It’s all for the better nowadays.

I’m also back at school, or class, so to speak, as from today, and I’m so excited to get my routine back and see my pals. It’s back on the mat at my weekly Pilates class (my middle aged indulgence dolls, ever trying, sadly in vain, to regain my pre-baby flat belly.) Whilst we do a lot of stretching and stuff, the best belly workouts we get are from laughing. It’s a great group of girls (bit of a euphemism that) and we know each other pretty well from hours lying next to each other on the mats, but we seldom, if ever see each other elsewhere. We’ve shared hours of exercise, laughs, life events and tips, restaurants and recipes with nary a bad moment between us. We show a polite, passing interest in each other's children, spouses or grandchildren, and never have I heard anyone say that they were raising them wrong or being unfair to their husbands. Maybe that’s the secret to good relationships, lying with your legs folded in the air and a bit of breathing space between you, too puffed out to deliver insults to each other, or too much at mat’s distance, unlike blood and other ties, to deliver hurtful commentary. For, if I were to be honest with you, the worst and most painful times in my life have been inflicted upon me by the people I love the most, and with whom I have entrusted my deepest emotions. Silly old me, if only I'd kept them all a mat's distance away...

While I can’t wait to catch up with the gang after the long hols, I’m wondering if there’s the faintest hope that with all these efforts, I might just squeeze back into my wedding dress for a BIG and exciting wedding anniversary coming up soon?

Watch this space…


Ever hopeful


Suzy Q