School's in session

Sean has been desperate to get back to school. I've never seen anyone so keen to return to the grind after their holiday. I've resisted from telling him how much I hated those last days of the summer holidays, the yoke of institution bearing down on me as I had to return to the formality of school uniform, timetables and discipline. It still wears heavy on me today: I'm almost reluctant to have a long holiday because the pain of settling back into the work routine afterwards is a hard cross to bear.

Regardless, Sean has been enthusiastic about starting his P7 year, getting his red sweathshirt and seeing his classmates, and has spread that anticipation to his brothers. Sharon and I enjoyed the holidays but it is time to get some structure back to the day, and earlier bed times.

The boys have begun the term with good intentions. New task sheets have been drawn up for the chores they are expected to undertake (setting the table, emptying the dishwasher and so on) and they have been making their own packed lunches immediately after dinner has been cleared away. I'd love to see this carry on, as the chore of making their lunches, as well as my own and Angus's on his nursery days, tests my culinary imagniation to the limit. They do need supervision (Rowan with a breadknife is a potentially lethal combination), not least to check the sugar content of their lunchboxes, but it's good to see them taking a lead.

Sean is in the P6/7 composite, with Miss Bennett as his teacher. Finn has Miss Jagpal in P5 while Rowan has Mr. Peach in P3. Rowan is pleased that Mr. Peach knows him (through Finn) and knows to call him Ro-win and not R-ow-in. After two days at Fairmile, Angus joined the school party on Friday morning, starting "P-zero" as the boys call morning pre-school nursery at Pentland. He and Sean are the red-jerseyed book-ends, with Rowan and Finn still in their navy tops. This is the last year of them all being in Pentland. Sharon had a tear in her eye as she dropped them off. Was it really 2007 when we were ushering Sean into Mrs. Cooke's P1 classroom to sit next to Sam? And now he's a big P7 lad with a P1 of his own to buddy.

I went down to the school for pick-up on the first day back and was greeted by a huge run-up and hug from Rowan which just about put my back out. We went home, picked up Angus then Sean, Finn and I made chilli for tea which everyone voted a great "back to school dinner".