10 November - Missed calls & Tedium

A colleague’s wife’s mobile dials his number. I answer and it’s a missed call sort of thing but am fascinated by what I hear and I listen for nearly 40 mins as she ferries the kids from some after school and there is another woman in the car so the talk is mother to kids and to friend and back. They drive to the pool. She’s very patient and then again her two boys are very well behaved but .. I’d rather slash my wrists than spend my afternoons ferrying kids to and fro their activities and having to be inquisitive and supportive about their schools and their goals and successes…. I notice from his diary that tomorrow the kids have football practice and some visit to the teacher. Oh dear god, thank you… I may have other whinges about life, but having to deal with kids for 15 years of my life would have killed me. I know of course colleague’s wife doesn’t do a stroke of paid work and lives in a huge house in a nice area, but nothing and nothing would compensate for the tedium of checking school work, relationships with their little friends and forced friendships with other mothers. Give me ‘me’ time any day of my life. And why don't I ever come to listen to some intriguing missed call instead? Some political plotting? Some planned heist? Because come to think of it, I also get regular missed calls complete with car and kids conversations from one of my friends in Bristol who takes them to church (would you believe) on Sunday mornings. Thank god it' s not the earliest service is all I can say.