Monday 3 August 2015

spit and polish

 
 



So I've just had to decant an enormous curry made for five into a Tupperware box. I cooked on auto pilot; it's only Olly and me at home this week. Then again, that's Saturday's tea sorted. A sort of serendipity. And it occurred to me that meal times will change around here very soon. Without Sam, I will not have to stick to such a rigid tea time routine. Since secondary school, he has slunk into the kitchen at about ten to five every evening, asking "When's tea ready?" That won't be happening from September.

Mealtimes will not be so complex either. I'm so used to cooking at least three different meals (I know already), that it will feel rather strange to only cook one, maybe two. Definitely two. Now I think about it, Alfie will only eat three main meals; macaroni cheese, roast (grudgingly) and a cooked breakfast tea. He'd happily eat pizza every day. But even I put my foot down with that one.

And while we're on the subject.... laundry. I'll have less laundry! Sam gets through the entire contents of his drawers in a single day. I've given up asking him to wear his pyjamas more that once. It's easier to just stuff them in the machine and mutter under my breath. I'll be helping to save the planet one less wash at a time.

Then there's the ironing. Sam is partial to a shirt. It's all part of this preppy look that he's got going on. Trouble is he wears them even if he's not going out of the house. With relaxy pants. Why? I've given up asking. Or suggesting that a t-shirt would suffice when he's hunched over his computer, or lounging in front of the tv. It's not unusual for me to iron fifteen shirts a week. I'll have a third less by September. I feel giddy just thinking about it.

What else? Well I won't have the pleasure of emptying his bin. I think some of the stuff I tip out of there may not conform to EU regulations. And the general unkemptness of his room. I spent the best part of today giving his and his brother's room a deep clean. It was hideous. Honestly. I think I've gone in and out of their rooms several times, just for the sheer pleasure of seeing them so sparkly. With open windows, blinds drawn and everything.

I'll miss his sense of humour though. He does make me laugh. And what's even better is that I make him laugh too. He says I'm the funniest person he knows, which is high praise indeed I reckon. And I'll miss his relentless thirst for knowledge. His broad intelligence, and the fact that I now turn to him to answer a question rather than the other way around. I'll miss his interest in politics and world affairs. His love of history. His beautiful green eyes. The way he looks up under his fringe at me when I'm cross. The fact that he will always say sorry, and seeks me out to make up when we've had a row.

Oh dear, I think I'm really going to miss my boy.

Leanne xx

(the pictures were from a recent visit to Lanhydrock. I wouldn't mind cooking three different meals, all ready to eat at 5 on the dot if I had a kitchen like this)

27 comments:

  1. When my eldest went to University I lay on his bed for HOURS just " smelling" him. I laid his place at the table for months ..... And then he succeeded and never came home but I was proud and understood that he needed his place in the world . But, for the first time without me!!!! Xxxx

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  2. Hi Leanne. Sam sounds like a lovely young man despite the piles of laundry, smelly bin contents and the preppy shirts. No doubt he'll miss you, too and not just when the bin is overflowing. Curry is always best on the second day. Christina xxx

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  3. How attached we get to these funny boys. He sounds like one in a million, and he also sounds rather like you. I wonder if he'll still be partial to shirts when he's in sole charge of the ironing pile. Be strong sweetie, he'll be back before you know it, and he'll want his tea on the table. CJ xx PS, A few different things at mealtimes here too. A fish eater, two veggies, a cheese hater, two meatey people and one with raw vegetables please. Complicated isn't it.

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  4. Oh dear, I have all this to come next year with my girl. This letting go mularkey is not easy at all - and I've still got my girl at home for a while yet! At least you know he'll be home in the holidays to mess his room up again :-) xx

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  5. He sounds just great and it seems like you have a good relationship. Laundry basket constantly full here too even though there's only three of us. Shirts, cycling gear, and cooking. Hope he gets the uni place he wants - not long to results day now.

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  6. He sounds like a lovely lad. I dreaded my eldest going to uni and howled for a week when she went. Strangely though, you do get into a new routine very quickly (although, I never did manage to cook for 3 instead of 4!) and the terms are so short that they're back before you know it. Fingers crossed for the 13th. xx

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  7. And I'm getting a bit sad at the prospect of Joe's free preschool hours coming up! The thought of university... I'll probably be a complete mess.
    But part of being a student is descending (often unannounced) on the family home, starving hungry and with a ton of dirty washing. Not too much will change :)
    S xx

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    1. My fear is that I will not see him again. I think he's going to be like me; once I left I never came back.
      L xx

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  8. Sounds like he's going to miss you more than you'll miss him. And don't worry about him bringing home sacks of dirty laundry. In my experience university accommodation and privately rented university digs are equipped with efficient washing machines and (please save the planet!) tumble dryers. Pleased to say that my daughter has invested in pegs for her second year gaff! Oh and my cure for an empty nest was to discover Blogland last November via taking up sewing and knitting again and then getting side-tracked by learning to crochet. Get Sam to shop and cook for you all a few times ( if he doesn't already). It's good to have a few meals in your repertoire even if they're only macaroni cheese or sausage, mash and beans!

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    1. I've given him a tutorial on how to separate your washing, so no chewing gum whites. And he can cook a bit. Liverpool is a long way from St Ives 😞

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  9. I knew from the first glance at the first picture where you had been! You got such better photos than I did!!! Love the one of the kitchen as a whole. I hope that you enjoy the week at home with just the two of you with less cooking, less laundry and no doubt less mess and noise! xx

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    1. I was v lucky with the kitchen shot, cause no-one was poking about for a nano second.

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  10. The end of an era - for both of you. Embrace the new freedom and opportunities. And look forward to the long holidays.

    I recognised that kitchen. We visited Lanhydrock a couple of weeks ago when holidaying in Falmouth. Kitchens and servants quarters always hold more fascination for me than the grander rooms in stately homes.

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    1. I loved all those rooms too. So many. I think the pastry room was a favorite.

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  11. I know you will miss him a lot. I think he will miss you a lot as well. But there will be holidays and visiting weekends and he'll call and write often, I think. He knows that you are his home. He won't forget that. You've made a welcoming, safe and loving place for him and he will always want to return, maybe not as eagerly at first, but it will happen. I really like that kitchen and I'd be happy to cook more, and better, in that one myself.

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    1. I certainly hope so. I fear that he will fly the nest, and never return. Like me. The kitchen is fab isn't it? It even has a spit roast.
      L xx

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  12. Ah, lovely words. He sounds ace, your eldest boy, and I know it will be strange without him. Yes, it's less washing, less cooking and all that, but just think of those brilliant, joyful family meals you'll have when he comes home in the holidays! xx

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    1. Ha! Yes he is ace. But aren't they all!
      L xx

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  13. You've summed it up perfectly, Leanne. The love we have for our children outweighs the sum of all their annoying habits. You will miss him when he's gone, and I suspect when he comes home after being away at school he might not take those ironed shirts and clean pyjamas for granted like he does now.

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    1. Hey Kristie,
      I'm hoping he'll grow out of his shirt phase while he's away... ;)
      L xx

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  14. I have just popped by from Christina's blog and loved reading this post. I am mum to four boys, all now grown up, one a very fussy eater who would happily eat pizza every meal and one a vegetarian. So as you can imagine I identified totally with what you have written. You will miss him but they bring different joys as they grow and make their own way. And they always remain your boys!

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    1. Hey Gina,
      Thanks for popping over. Those boys of ours. We wouldn't have them any other way, would we!
      Leanne xx

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  15. When my children were at Uni I enjoyed doing less washing and ironing. Although their rooms were often untidy when they were home I disliked the the empty tidy rooms that were left behind. The terms at Uni soon fly by and it's not long before they are back home again. Sarah x

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    1. Hey Sarah,
      I guess it's a novelty to have tidy, sweet smelling rooms ;))
      Lxx

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  16. I still cook far too much for just the 2 of us, hard habit to lose, thank goodness for the freezer. I have been meaning for years to go inside Lanhydrock, typical isn't it, when you actually live in Cornwall you don't get around to visiting these places.

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    1. Hey Chickpea,
      It's totally worth a visit. The gardens remind me of the novel The Secret Garden
      Lxx

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  17. looks like a wonderful place to visit. I miss my boy when he goes away for the weekend, I can't contemplate him going away for months on end........

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