DadTalk

First Day Parent Blues

The school uniform was one, the hair was brushed and the breakfast had been eaten. Abi (3 years and 6 months) was calm, relaxed and enjoying another fine episode of Zing Zillas. I, on the other hand, was nervous and slightly emotional.

I have always been quite proud of the fact that I am not that flap-able and that I respond well to pressure or a crisis but every now and again something minor will get to me. Today was one of those days. 

I can remember starting school at 4 or 5 and not enjoying it. I wasn’t bullied, and I wasn’t stupid I just didn’t like being there. I was never interested in sitting down, listening and learning. I wanted to play football, watch TV and annoy my mum. I just couldn’t get my head around wanting to go to school. I bunked my first lessons when I was 6 years old. For some reason I’d got myself into Recorder lessons and I needed to get out of there quickly.

So when we got to Abi’s (very good) new school I had a number of very strange flashbacks. Not flash backs, like an old LSD trip or the sort that an ex-Iraq veteran might have, more like a memory...

Ok, so it wasn’t a flashback at all but when I saw that knee high sink, the coat hangers a foot of the floor and that annoying kid who takes toys off everybody I had some very clear memories.

How ridiculous is that? I had to pause for a moment and remember that I wasn’t in therapy and needed to make sure my daughter was happy and settled. Incidentally, she barely noticed when I left and appeared to be having a great time.

This is one of those milestones in life. You take your child to do something you clearly remember your own parents taking you too. Maybe in a few decades the cycle will be repeated again.

Life is relentless and there is nothing new under the sun but sometimes these very common experiences catch you way off guard even though a billion other people have been there before you.

For a brief moment in time that was me.