Constant interruptions — a parent’s view from the kitchen table

Usually it’s fine, I just crack on with what needs doing and let the kids be a little feral. However, the news that the eldest hasn’t been handing in her work has prompted me to reinstate everyone sitting at the kitchen table. It’s like having work colleagues again sometimes. We take it in turns to make a round of drinks, we all like warm blackcurrant or hot lemon and honey.

Luckily we made some nice biscuits at the weekend (white chocolate and cranberry cookies) so we all dive in to celebrate 10am. I have also set a reminder to make sure I drink a pint of water every couple of hours, perfect timing.

I regularly have to call everyone back to the table frequently as there are different break times, with my husband popping down from the spare room office to stretch his legs and tell me how busy he is. Then there’s the constant attraction of ​“iCarly” on Netflix to battle against as well as the rummaging through the kitchen cupboards for snacks.

I need to monitor my eldest much more closely, frequently checking what lesson she’s on, when her next lesson starts, flicking between her email inbox, her Edulink to see what needs to be done or handed in. Is it a live lesson? This will require squabbling over the various sets of perfectly suitable headphones we have. If it’s live, the rest of us need to keep the music and chat down. I certainly frown upon my husband helpfully boiling the kettle while I’m on work calls but I have to be nice as I want a fresh cuppa.

The postie knocks on the door and rings the bell excitedly. A little bit of joy in our morning, we all run to the front door to see what goodies have arrived, but it’s boring letters and the parcels from ebay we have been buying to keep us in stock while all the shops are closed. Everyone is growing out of their clothes so having a quick shopping spree on ebay means we can carry on looking presentable. I’ll be checking out Vinted soon at the suggestion of one of my colleagues.

Anyway, everyone has disappeared. This is great as I can refocus on my work but then there’s the constant nagging that the kids need to be at school, ready for the next lesson.

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