Well the year is ticking past much faster than I had planned and all my babies are flying off again to their new nests. Patrick is currently in Holland settling in to his new life being a student again and learning another language. I really hope this works out for him, you never really know how long each child is going to take to settle into adulthood but I have learnt that when they get to 18 all you can do is guide, not impose and just be around to collect up the pieces when necessary.
So I am hoping that Emily when she gets to Bordeaux next week to study English and Portuguese will settle in to her new adventure and enjoy it as much as I enjoyed my university years.
Number 3 will be hanging around a wee bit longer although moving up into Collège will be a new experience for her, not to mention learning to live with her parents without any sibling support. Luckily she has lots of friends and lots of activities to keep her mixing with people who know that "The Next Step" is a telly programme and not what you take every morning when you get out of bed.
Soon it is time to break free from the chains of the holidays (!?) and then nothing will stop me getting through rest of the year.
See you all soon
Helen
P.S. Who has spotted the musical reference? Could be tricky to be exact.