Summer ‘holiday’

The struggle is real
Oh my gawwwwd.

I need to offload about today: I’m on summer holidays and starting a new job in 2 weeks. I’m trying to enjoy this precious time with my girls and appreciate how lucky I am to work in this job; the job that while working me like a mule in term time, does give me the enormous burden privilege of being with my children when they have their school hols.

But it’s sooooo haaaaaard!
My wonderful wife was miserable in CZ because she was looking after twins, by herself, 5 days a week.

Well, now I am doing the same for the first time, and while certain things are way easier two years on, there is a truly challenging phase going on as the girls struggle to control their huge emotions; Whatever we are doing, one (or like today BOTH of them) will lose it and cause us some major stress and disruption (a bit like cancelled trains).

I think I am dealing with it sensitively and constructively, but the emotions and screams are still coming so a sterner approach seems alluring (and, hands up, unavoidable if I simply lose my rag in the face of banshee screams).

To give you an idea, my girls have good lungs. The kind of screams emitted are appropriate for the following events:

• Severe terror such as an approaching zombie apocolypse
• Severe pain such as the loss of a limb
• Severe revulsion such as an encounter with our current prime minister or our ex education secretary

They are not appropriate for the following:

• Wanting to watch (more) Peppa Pig
• Being annoyed about being awake
• Being given the (requested) dinner
• Not being allowed an ice cream
• Wanting the thing her sister has
• Wanting to be carried

 

Arrrggggggh