'Back to School'

Yes, the signs are up everywhere, it's time to start thinking about 'Back to School'. On a serious note they are a constant reminder that I have been thinking about this a lot anyway. JK and I have not been getting on well, and I wonder if he would prefer to have more time away from me, and to feel more independent. I guess it's only to be expected as he rapidly approaches that dreaded 13th birthday, he increasingly seems to resent my existence!

So one option would be a return to school. Over the past few weeks we have talked about this, but although he was slightly unsure when I first suggested home education, he is now absolutely adamant that he does not want to go to our catchment comprehensive (even when I won't let him go on Facebook after 9pm!). In fact, he won't go out of the house alone at lunchtime, and physically flinches if we walk past a group of pupils in uniform together. Yet, he does have friends that go to schools, including a couple at this one, so I'm not really sure why. He has made incredible progress socially since coming out of school, in no end of ways, but he still isn't truly happy and I have no idea how to help him with this at the moment, so I guess this is just one of the difficult parts of the journey and I'll have to keep listening and thinking and trying to understand and offering suggestions.

On a much lighter note, 'Back to School' also means some great stationery offers, which I'm more than happy to take advantage of. Today I've been stocking up on those fantastic pens that you can rub out and write straight over, and bought a beautiful new diary to start planning ahead for when things get back to normal in September. And we managed to buy big white pants and crop tops for Madi ready for Gang Show on a 342 offer.

Good news, apart from struggling with JK, which, sadly, I think may be an ongoing theme :-(