Had a bad start to the day- well, the whole morning, but this really due to tiredness. Someone else dropping off a child late to Montessori invited me to the local play gym. I thought this sounded easier than doing a big shop, which is what I was supposed to be doing. But when I was there, I started to wonder how I'd ended up there. Had I died and gone to hell? I wondered, as I propped myself up on the edge of the trampoline, surrounded by brightly clashing colours in a claustrophobia-inducing room, with the loud hum (more like a roar) of an inflatable, so that you could hardly hear the piped music or the children's voices. The boys seemed to enjoy it, although, I would say, neither fall within the ideal age range of about 18 months to 3. I'm sure during out of school hours there would be more 4 and 5 year olds, but I think that would have made it slightly less bearable. I went to Allie's assistance when the door fell off the wendy house, only to find that it smelled of wee, and tried to disuade them from playing in there. I noticed a sign saying, "please do not allow your child to jump off the playhouse into the bouncy castle". I wouldn't have thought this possible for an under 5, but, presumably, it is. Now I know what it is like, I don't think we will be doing that again. I reallised afterwards that my repulsion to bad jungle murals may stem from having to stay in a children's ward when I was 13. Or maybe they're just crap, and an insult to children's aesthetic sensibilities. (They also have these in our doctor's waiting rooms, which make me feel sick). I hereby allow myself to not like these things.
ANYWAY... things got better after I got back, ate and had a much needed LIE DOWN, after that! I didn't have much time to make tea after I'd picked Jem up, and done an emergency shop- as many things that will fit in a basket in the Stop 'n' Shop- well, just a bit more, so you have to be followed around by the children, picking up grocery items. I had a hair appointment at 5.20, but managed to have the tea on the table by 5.10, so, pleased to be organised I could enjoy my indulgence of the expensive hairdresser's, and ended up with a 'new me' short hairstyle, which has given me a much-needed boost.
I bumped into someone there, who was wondering why they hadn't seen me in the school playground! That was OK, though, she was surprised at the reason, but interested, too.