Ellen's blog: Starting School

My oldest son has started school! I thought I would share with you some crucial lessons learned from this stressful experience:

1. Sewing name labels into uniform can cause near-divorce situation:

Sewing a label into a sock is very, very tricky. My initial approach of putting the label inside the top of the sock was criticised by my husband for potentially causing unnecessary itching (he saved that comment for after I had finished the first pair, so naturally I had to POINT OUT THAT HE SHOULD DO IT HIMSELF, RATHER THAN WATCH ME IF HE KNOWS SO MUCH ABOUT IT).

After midnight when I had finished one pair of socks and all of the trousers (diagonal positioning of the label – very complicated) I had to admit defeat and continue the sewing on an a just-in-time basis

Lesson learned: Sew the label into the sole of a sock (being careful not to sew the two side of the sock together). Also start labelling process in about July to allow plenty of time to complete the task before the start of school, and for interfering husbands to provide feedback along the way

2. Having two children in different locations lengthens the daily commute

We have used breakfast and after-school clubs to extend the school day from 7:45am to 5:15pm (although there is an additional session of 45 minutes after-school club which we did not take, mainly due to the guilt).

Via our usual arrangement of me doing the drop-off and sock-expert husband doing the pick-up, my journey to work via the nursery then the school has been extended considerably

Lesson learned: Do not wear heels or too many layers if you are on foot. And do not eat a lion bar on the train to work thinking “all the extra walking will cancel this out”

3. After all that effort, you will never know what they do all day

Unfortunately my little boy is unable to remember anything that he has done at school, when asked. When I arrive home from work, and use my final dregs of energy to ask him “What did you do at school today”? it is rewarded with “Er, I dunno. Nothing. I didn’t like the snack. Can I have a story now?” Aside from having a snack, I am not sure what he does all day.

Ellen works for a well-known investment bank in the City. She began her career at KPMG, before moving on to Barclays, HSBC and Aviva before joining her current employer almost three years ago.  She has two children aged three and one, who divide their working week between nursery and grandma's house.