"No black trainers," my son announces loudly as he returns from Day 2 of the back to school grind.
I grit my teeth.
"But they are shoes - expensive leather shoes that just look a bit curvy."
"Well, Teacher says they are too much like runners".
I have to fight the urge to scream. I chose these shoes because they are in the back to school section of the shop AND are very shoe-like in my opinion. I wanted my son to be reasonably comfortable - especially in the yard. Put it this way, I wouldn't want him to wear them to sports day.
It is just one of the countless irritations that we all have to suck up as the children return back to school.
Emptying lunch boxes, signing homework notebooks and battling breakfast bedlam to get them into school on time - it isn't easy. Scraping dried Weetabix off the floor is not my idea of morning fun, nor is plaiting two heads into elaborate catwalk styles at 7am. "I want DUTCH plaits, not FRENCH plaits".
And then there are the notes.
Afterschool activities, insurance forms, milk money, rules of conduct, newsletter, nits policy, anti-bullying policy, can their photo be taken? Will they do Irish Dancing?
Then you get guilted into being involved in cake-sales, charity collections, helping at sports day, ferrying them to away matches, volunteering to supervise exams...the list is endless.
If you have multiple children (as I do) you can double and triple those duties.
Oh, and you work? Brilliant. Never enough to do. Wouldn't want to be bored now, would we?
So we suck it up because we love our children, and we want all the doors of life's opportunity to be flung wide open for them.
But if I have to start combing for nits again, I am going to need therapy.
