So.....

It's been a bit of a roller-coaster this past week.

Les got back with a fairly extreme case of Jet lag that left me concerned for his mental health. His return came with attendant psychological issues in the form of:
"Hi Daddy my name is Will and I am going to cling to you like a limpet and totally freak out if you leave the house because now that you are back I realise how much I missed you and over my dead body are you ever going to do that to me again." Punctuated by a small face crying at the window this morning as Les drove off to work after a week of saying "I need you dad, I neeeeed you!."

I would have been more sympathetic if it was not for the complimentary issues this past week in the form of:
"Leave me alone Mum, you are totally useless and I don't want you for anything not even bed time kisses or when I am hurt because lets face it DADDY is better."

I am of course joking- I was sympathetic to his pain this morning and engaged him in an enthralling conversation about bones- which Hairy McLary discerning shopper that he is gets from the Mad Butcher, so I am told.

Then of course there were my own psychological issues in the form of:

"I have been totally in control of this house which has been running like a cool, CALM, well oiled machine- and now you are back and you are tired and grumpy and your 'sudden' inflictions of justice/discipline is driving me up the wall especially as I deal with my own accumulated exhaustion after three weeks of both supporting your efforts in the worlds and carving out my own quiet and constructive personal time in the early hours of the morning".

It was complimented by a kick arse tooth ache and the prospect of a HUGE bill for dentistry and considering I personally have no income that was kind of depressing and exacerbated by the fact that the antibiotics for the tooth ache reeked havoc on my body. So I kind of fell apart and felt terribly useless, out of control and out of sorts.

Part of the week was spent getting organised to get Kieran ready for Japan something which he took in his stride (read he was very blasé) while we ran around at a reasonable pace. I can imagine the scene at customs:

CO: "Did you pack this bag yourself?"
K: "No my mum did"
CO: "And you are here to play rugby are your boots clean?"
K: "Um I don't know"

I have to say I shed a few tears in the car after the boy went through the big doors to the other side of the world with a bunch of young rugby thugs, their rugby head fathers and wine-o mothers who seemed intent to further the cause of Japan's economy by increasing the alcohol consumption of the country 500-fold (each day). (I am of course generalising- some of the kids and some of the parents are absolutely lovely and fortunately I feel able to trust them with my first born)- I'm not joking about the alcohol consumption though. All this wasn't helped by the fact that Kieran was one of two kids who left without any contact details in Japan. I was pleased to receive this email yesterday morning:

"Hello, my name is tokushima. We spend it with a kieran happily. I want to make a kieran and thebest memory."

Which I take to mean that Kieran is well and happy.

The end of the week saw the netball draw come out and with it the reality that Merenia's birthday wasn't going to be able to be executed in the way that she wanted it at the time that she wanted it.

More psychological issues. (And stomping and wailing and howling and crying).

Compromise being that Merenia had a couple of friends over on her birthday (Sunday) and will next week get to go horse riding and to the hotpools with Alyssa as planned albeit a week late (the horror!).

I have photos of all this and more and will share in due course but for now it's freezing so the fire is calling me. I promised Will paint and we're supposed to be having lunch with Les. And then there's the commitment that I made to turn this darn thing off during the day!

Adieu!
♥