A special day for my Son

Today was my son's final day at Playgroup. I hadn't really prepared for the emotion of the event. Parents were invited along at lunchtime for an indoor picnic and for a short ceremony where each child was presented with a record of their time with the group and a gift of a pencil case which of course is symbolic of their early school years. As each child was presented with their gift,  they gave the head teacher a hug. As we sat watching, I could see eyes filling up with tears and a lump gradually rose in my throat as it dawned on me the significance of the occasion. Of course this was lost on my son who saw it simply as a slightly unusual day when parents were allowed in school. But for my wife and I, this was an enormously significant occasion. I began to realise just how long he had spent attending the playgroup and how much of his early development was due, almost entirely to his time there. I realised also the dedication and professionalism of the teaching staff and particularly the very special relationships that had been built between them and the children. For one of the staff, this day had particular poignancy as she had looked after our son since he was about a year old, before joining the group as a full-time member of staff. This was reflected in her face as tears began to stream down her cheeks, the emotion of the moment clearly too much to contain. We hugged and promised to keep in touch.
For my son, it will be many years before he is able to understand how special today has been. We have an excellent paper record of his time there, with many photographs charting his development. I am indebted to the staff for producing this and shows the enormous amount of effort that the staff put into their work and the level of care and attention afforded the children who attend.

It is very odd to think that my son won't be attending playgroup ever again. He has six weeks between now and when he begins 'big school'. I will certainly make the most of it as I know that when I start work again, my hours will mean that I will see far less of him than I do now. This I know is going to be difficult for him as he has become so used to me being around. I know for sure that it will be very difficult for me also. I will miss him dearly though I hope there will be times when my wife can bring him to meet me from work or to even ride with me during the day on one of my buses. He'll love that. We'll see what happens...

A very important period of my son's life ended today. Where did all the time go? He's too young to understand why his Mummy and Daddy were so upset... I hope that one day, he will discover for himself

My son's first swear-word & Friday road idiots

For a Friday, today was quite typical. It will though now be remembered for the day my 4 year old son uttered his first swear-word - 'Shit'. There were witnesses to it - my mother-in-law and my wife heard him say it as he rolled about the floor in a small tent. He's managed to get himself stuck and out came the expletive. Now, I'm against bad language generally - especially where children are concerned - and I can only assume he's picked up this new word from playschool, for the language used by other children his age is really terrible. It's no great surprise when you meet some of the parents responsible for these little budding brain surgeons and airline pilots (not!) - they communicate only by shouting at the top of their voices and every other word is an expletive. You cannot blame the children when they are growing-up in this kind of environment and I shouldn't be surprised at all that my son has brought the word home with him. I'm actually quite resigned to the fact that his language will become more diverse and expletive ridden the older he gets. He knows what guns are for and associates them with instant death, as he demonstrates on his mother and father (and the dog) regularly. I suppose I don't really want him to grow-up. The world is just so full of nasty things and equally nasty people. I must face the fact that I can't protect him from everything...

I can guarantee at least one idiot every Friday evening flouting our road laws or endangering road users. This evening was no exception. Once again the new and clearly marked 50mph limit was ignored by two drivers who shot past me at 60-70mph, and once again I was nearly pushed off the road by some idiot who had no idea how to safely overtake. The standard of driving in this county has to be the worst I have ever seen, and possibly the worst in the UK. It's no wonder Lincolnshire has some of the highest incidents of road accidents and fatalities.
Enforcement is the answer and I don't think education is. Those breaking the law are young and education has either failed them or they simply can't be bothered. It's sad, but it's a fact. But all the while there are fewer and fewer police on our streets, they'll simply continue to get away with it. If you want people to drive according to the law, I'm afraid you have to make them.