I will be going to visit work tomorrow for an hour - the first time I have been back since leaving in late February to begin our adoption journey. It’s going to be strange leaving the kids behind for the morning.
While I can totally understand the need to make plans for the projects I will work on when I “officially” return, it is nevertheless annoying that we couldn’t be left alone for our few weeks of bonding. I guess it’s one of the inevitable problems faced by small businesses - each person carries a tremendous amount of experience and skill that may not overlap with others. For the same reasons I have been asked to attend a meeting with a client in a couple of weeks time.
In some ways having to visit the office will be good - it will get the kids used to the idea that I will not be here - that I will go to work each day - only seeing them at breakfast time and for dinner each day during the week.
This evening was a bit of a nightmare. The middle child fell asleep this afternoon, and I let her sleep to give me a chance to tidy the house up while W took the eldest to get registered at the doctors. In the middle of this the children’s social worker arrived too - so I let her sleep on.
The upshot of this was a small child waking up at about 9pm, and repeatedly trying to wake up her sleeping sisters. During her final attempt she crept out onto the landing, peered down the stairs straight into my face in the dark, and ran back to her bed. I went up, gave her a huge hug and whispered how late it was, try to get to sleep, and the other things you say to children who can’t sleep.
I’m wondering at what age they develop any consideration for others. If they had any it would make such episodes much easier to deal with.
While we have been surprised at just how well the children have survived their early life, little issues are starting to become obvious. They have never visited friends houses to play before - so have had no expected behaviour instilled in them. It became obvious very quickly that we need to be chaperone their every move when in public at the moment - both to provide guidance and to police them.
Funniest moment today? The middle child sitting on the toilet, calling her younger sibling to the bathroom - and when she arrived shouting at her to leave her alone. The second time she did it I arrived instead of her sister and had a few words with her about her behavior. Cue chin on chest, and very sorry looking little person sat on her throne.