School's out for summer, shit what to do now...

WOULD you believe that secondary students here in Ireland get an outrageous three months off each summer, can you believe it?

Three whole months, three months to fill up, three months to worry what on earth they are up to and three months of hanging about with idle hands and devils making work.

So for that length of time what do you do with a 13-year-old, who is too old for a childminder and too young to be left to her own device? Bloody well beats me, answers on a postcard please.

But don’t get me wrong, I am lucky the childminding, childcare problem is something that I am now moving away from and thankfully so, it’s been a tough 13 years in that regard.

So far, since finishing school at the end of May, we had a week away together in Galway; she had a week away with a schoolpal and a week at home with her Nanny.

However this week, she is in disgrace again (a long and boring story) and trying eagerly to earn brownie points by keeping our flat lovely and tidy, despite having to vacuum and re-vacuum cos you wouldn’t have known about it after the first time. I intend to keep this state of affairs up at least until all the duvets are laundered anyway, which should take me to tomorrow.

The only thing is for the first time ever; my work is sympathetic which actually follows through to reality, unlike everywhere else I have worked. So I will probably bring her into lunch and deposit her behind someone’s computer where she can get a head start on work for next year on the internet. Yeah, right, more like a million google searches for Kurt Kobain.

So what next, well there is always another visit to her pal down the country, a visit to the other Nanny and hopefully a week away together later on in the summer.

It isn’t easy.

And for the day that's in it, I just received this from my pal Tetra, isn't the internet great for that as it happens when it happens factor.


What to do with the merchandise...