Good evening,

My life as a suburbanlawmum continues, even though all three of the (adult) children now live away most of the time.

Older daughter is training to be a primary school teacher on the south coast. She has lived with her boyfriend at his parents’ house for around 3 years now and they are just looking to buy their own home using their Help to Buy ISA. We were lucky that her graduation was in August 2019, before all the Coronavirus pandemic and lockdowns, so myself and QT2 were able to get the train down there straight from our holidays to see her collect her degree. She’s been happy recently that cricket, American football and other sports re-started because she has always been a keen sportswoman.

QT1 got a First in her degree. We are all so proud of her. First First in the family! We’re still waiting for her Graduation Ceremony since she graduated in June 2020, in the middle of various lockdowns and the never ending local lockdown which affected us here. Now she’s studying for a Masters Degree in Stage Management which means that she is also away from home most of the time as the course has to be crammed into 8 months between January and September (they get August off). Currently she is on a three month internship in a theatre in London which is really good news and will help her future prospects considerably. When she completes the Masters she will carry on living outside London in the hope of securing a job in a theatre there.

QT2 had a bit of a nightmare. He went off to America on his rugby scholarship and did a foundation year at an American University. But that was cancelled after the first year and instead he has been at University in the UK, studying Sports Coaching. Of course this means he is a year behind most of his contemporaries who will all graduate this year whilst he will not graduate until next year. He was at home from late March to July 2020 as the Uni shut down as soon as the lockdown started, That was fun and we made lots of entertainment and did lots of exercise (as I was working from home and then on furlough). In July he had to take on and start paying for his Uni house contract so he and his housemates moved in and formed a bubble which they have been in ever since. The lockdowns have affected him badly as there has been no rugby now for over a year although they have just recently been able to return to non-contact training and have had a couple of friendly matches. Typically he got his hand damaged playing but thankfully it doesn’t seem to have been too serious (fingers crossed) and at least it was his left hand so no excuse about not being able to do his Uni work.

The loneliest part was Christmas when we would usually see all of them for at least some of the time but this time, because of the Covid restrictions, only QT2 came, and he only came for a few days over Christmas itself because his housemate was in the house on his own. QT2 is working in a chain restaurant in his University town and therefore doesn’t come home at the weekends now (in his first year he came home every weekend to play rugby for his home team) nor for more than a few days in the holidays.

So the house is empty and we’ve grown into a grumpy old couple, partner worked throughout the lockdowns without a break really and, after 6 months furlough last year, I’ve been back in harness since October. At first I was at least working from home most days. But recently I’ve had to switch back to working in the office all the time because I just don’t have the equipment at home by way of printer/scanner to be able to do the work (not having a secretary). My assistant/colleague went on maternity leave and has had a lovely baby girl. So I’m currently running the workload of two people which can be rather stressful. 07.30 to 17.30 is my standard day and then make dinner, clear up, sort out laundry, empty dishwasher all before I start promoting Cottage Cards (see earlier post!). It’s probably a good job there’s no-one else here to be looked after!

At least I have been able to re-start playing tennis and we even have some matches in the pipeline (weather permitting, several have been rained off already) so that is exciting and will get me out of the office and the house.

I greet the loosening of the lockdown restrictions with relief and some trepidation but by Monday I shall have had both my Covid jabs and I hope that as the take up of vaccinations increases things will gradually get back to some kind of normality.

Suburbanlawmum