Week 231- The Sopranos, sunglasses and sleeping with your cap on...

My daughter has started school and I now have just my two-and-a-half-year old son to entertain within the hours of 8.55am- 3pm every Friday.

And I realise this is probably the longest time we have spend together, just the two of us, since he was born.

Apart from when we were in the recovery ward at hospital.

But I’m going to discount that, as he was asleep for most of the time. 

On the plus side he has started aggressively telling me I’m his best friend.

Which is lovely (ish) if he could tone down The Sopranos style threat that seemingly accompanies it.

But the main thing I’ve realised since the two of us have started kicking about together, is that he doesn’t really have any mates.

And I am entirely to blame for this.

When Nancy was born I went to all the classes; baby yoga, baby swimming, baby zumba, baby sign language (I know- I might as well have burnt £150. AGAIN- I KNOW!! What I would give for that one hundred and fifty quid now…)

With Thomas, I already had that group of mum mates, the brilliant women I’d meet for coffee and a whinge whilst Nancy hung out with their children. And if they had a child of a similar age for Thomas to play with, then that was a Brucey bonus. Otherwise he settled for following around the bigger children whose legs move twice as quickly as his.

On top of this, I question how well he is coping with his sister starting school.

I suspect he thought it would only last a couple of days.

In fairness, none of us had prepared for that fact that school goes on FOREVER.

But, for a boy who has never so much as taken a bear to bed, he is now carrying around a lot of shit with him as a comforter.

He will not leave the house without his child’s rucksack containing-

• A pair of sunglasses
• A Barbie dress
• One glove
• A hair clip
• A glittery pink Frozen cap
• An old mobile phone belonging to the childminder.

If any one of these things are left behind then all hell breaks loose.

He also sleeps with the rucksack.

Which, given the fact that both children creep into our bed in the middle of the night, is slightly inconvenient.

There's not enough room for four heads on the pillow, let alone additional luggage.

So. Mission mother and son has started.

First mission- sort out some mates for him.

Second mission- convince him that he doesn’t need to go to bed wearing a baseball cap, sunglasses and one glove, clutching a rucksack.

And I thought getting Nancy to school was going to be the tricky bit.