Thursday, April 19, 2007

New Term!


It is the usual frenetic half hour between 6.30 and 7.07. Eventually all three older children are planted on the bus outside the door.

Hubby offers me breakfast. For the last few days I have been trying a "not eating in the daytime" regime, inspired by fellow bloggers. Realise however that I am really not going to cope with the rigours of the next hour or so without some reasonable sustenance on board, so accept gracefully and decide to do a "Sally" version of not eating in the day time. I'll have breakfast and dinner and that way avoid the temptation of snacks. No danger of consuming any chocolate anyway, as everyone has eaten the last morsel provided by the Easter Bunny. The entire family it appears are chocoholics.

One of our nephews has a birthday on Monday, and so for speed, convenience and cashflow considerations, it being the middle of the month, decide to order something from Next.

It's only 7.40 a.m. and so I reckon that I have time to order before aged 6 and 8 need to get ready for school.

A voice answers. "Do you have an order or an enquiry." "An order" I say.

Suddenly I hear a scream. All other thoughts go out of my mind, as I realise that the scream will easily be heard by call centre operator too, and she will think that she is dealing with a family who tortures their children.

It's youngest daughter, aged 6. "But I want some lemonade," she screams in her less than usual dulcet tones. "And I want it now". It's a bit like a recreation of a Violet Elizabeth Bott scene from Just William.

I excuse myself to the Next operator. Call hubby for help. He explains to aged 6 that she can't have lemonade at 7.45 in the morning. "But it was bought for me yesterday, because I was poorly, and Mummy said that I could have a bit to get some strength back, and I only had two sips, and now my mouth is completely plain dry."

Indeed I had. This is true. She had been up in the night, ill, hadn't managed to keep anything down all day, and so I thought a little lemonade (being too mean to buy Lucozade) would at least mean that she had a bit of something to regain her energy. Being mean and horrible parents, it's a rare treat in our house to have any sort of pop, and so when it's there it's like the forbidden fruit.

Hubby somehow manages to calm down the situation and give her some breakfast. I go back to my call. Given that I am ordering from Next anyway, I decide to get some bits of uniform that we need as well and some white socks. The last 980 white socks have either been destroyed in the garden or eaten by the washing machine, or both. We are now down to just a few, odd, very mucky looking apologies for pairs of socks. They don't look too good with the summer uniforms.

"I am sorry Mrs. Lomax, but the socks are on a two to four week delay." Have you any other white socks?" I say. "If you let me know the page number of the directory that you know they are on", she says "I'll find out." "No", I say. I'm asking you if you know whether or not you have any other white socks and where I might find them in the directory."

"Hold on a moment" Mrs. Lomax.

Music.

Eventually, she returns.

"There are some exactly the same in the Spring Summer Catalogue", she says, "and they have the same ordering code." "So presumably", I say, "if they are identical to the ones in the Summer brochure, they will be on a two to four week delay as well then?"

"Hold on a minute, I'll have a look."

Music again.

"Yes, I'm afraid they are on a two to four week delay."

I give up on the idea of white socks and decide to buy them from a proper place, like a shop. Meanwhile I ask about the item that I originally rang up for. The one for our nephew.

"I'm afraid that that item is on a two to four week delay" she says.

"OK." I say. "In which case, please could you send it directly to the person's house, as it's present, and if it's going to be delayed, it would be better if it goes directly there. And please can you waive the delivery charge?"

"I'm afraid that I can't waive the delivery charge."

"But it's not my fault" I say "that it is delayed. It could be sent here if you had it in stock and I would have time to wrap it and send it on."

"Well," she says "I can waive the delivery charge on your order, but you will have to pay for the delivery charge on the one to the different address."

That seems fair enough. So I go with that scheme of events.

"Can I have your credit card number for the delivery charge for your friend's parcel." She says. "No that's fine thanks," I say, thinking back to the original reason for using Next, please will you put it on my account. "No she says", for security reasons we can't send something to another address, without you paying for the postage up front."

??????????????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I put her on hold again and go to locate my handbag. I pay for the delivery.

"And what's the address of the recipient please Mrs. Lomax?"

They have just moved. I can't remember their new address. I excuse my self again to go and find the address book. By now she must be thinking that she is dealing with a family fit for the lunatic asylum.

I give her the address, and then I get to the postcode. In Hubby's writing. Has he written a 5 or a 15?

I leave the phone again, to check the postcode with hubby.

We finally manage to end the call. I just hope that I have managed to order the right thing for the right place and that two red school dresses don't arrive on our Nephew's doorstep. It has taken half an hour for the transaction.

I hear another scream from Miss Dulcet. "I don't know what to wear, she screams. "Uniform would be a good start" I proffer. "Yes, but I don't know if my friends will be wearing a summer dress or not." "Well" I say, "It's summer now, so they'll be wearing summer uniform." "No they won't Mummy. You can choose." I muse that last year she was much more easily placated with my slightly wide interpretation of the school rules when it suited me. "Well wear a dress anyway then I say. "It's much easier for PE and stuff." "But I might be the only one", she says.

I realise that this is going nowhere, so eventually I decide that the only way I am going to solve this is to call a friend's Mum. Number on mobile. Where's mobile? Call mobile from house phone. Find mobile. Call friend. It seems that dresses are on and everyone is happy. I think....

PE kit, book bags, where did I see the missing bag? By Aged 6's bed I say to hubby. Look all over the house. Eventually find it: by my side of our bed. I sort of had the right vision in my mind. Where are aged 8's trainers? Hubby looks in bottom of wardrobe. 85 things are on the floor of the wardrobe, and no trainers apparent.

Eventually we call a halt to operations as it is time to go to school with or without the various bits of paraphernalia needed.

Afterwards, when the house is quiet, and hubby has gone to work, I go back to the wardrobe. Pick up the 85 items from the floor, find and put away a Christmas stocking back to the right place. They do have a right place. They are just rarely back there before December 1st.

It's 9.10 a.m. Time for a cup of tea I think.

17 comments:

Anonymous said...

Must admit, it felt like a full day's work before I even got into the car to set off for a day's work.

Wasn't Violet Elizabeth Bott a creation of your fellow Old-Elphinian?

sallywrites said...

She was! Edited now!

zoe said...

oh god, i love teenagers, they're so easy. or maybe i was a super-strict matron-like mum.

the latter, i think.

FH said...

LOL at 6yr old memory!!:)) Hey! You promised her!:D

A cuppa tea and some Chocolate Sally will set you for the day!Go get it!:))

Beccy said...

My Ben has the same memory as your six year old. They never give an inch!

Sounds like early mornings here. All my children are tied to catching the train or bus so there's a mad rush to get everyone up and out and then I love to sit down and enjoy a quiet breakfast while I blog.

Anonymous said...

I need a nap just for reading that!

pierre l said...

Of course, the children have good memory. They need to remember the things that are relevant to each of them, whereas Sally has to remember what's relevant to "five children, a husband, a cat, a dog and a possible move to Portsmouth" (oops, last item not included), plus Sally herself.
At least it was good that Next told you there was a delay in white socks rather than taking the order and not delivering. Oh, and shouldn't the call have started with "press 1 for ..."?
I know women are better than men at time-sharing, but that was indeed a full day's work before breakfast.
And a very funny post.

Julia Buckley said...

Ha! Hope you enjoyed your cuppa!

Unknown said...

Just been out to feed the newts their worms. What a morning, PHEEW!

Anonymous said...

Ugh, I don't think I could cope with all that in the morning. You must be a morning person to get through it all. When I'm in your shoes I fully intend to stop in bed until 10 and let my wife deal with the early morning madness.

sallywrites said...

Hi Zoe!
I have both though - teenagers and tiddlies. I actually find the whole thing gets better with experience! And I don't get stressed by the moods of the little ones. I find it quite funny really!
Asha -
I know. She is funny isn't she?!
Beccy -
Isn't it quiet when they have all gone?!
Lisa -
That's how I feel most days at 9 a.m. But then I revive as the day goes on ready for the return match starting at 3.20 p.m.
Pierre -
You are kind... Thank you!
Julia -
I did!
John -
Rather feed children than Newts I think. Couldn't cope with the worms. It's my Room 101!
Ig-
Don't do that. She'd leave! Quickly.
(Methinks though that you will change when the right woman comes your way. You won't want to upset her!!)
Funnily enough I'm not a morning person by nature, but schools won't wait until 10 sadly....... You get used to it. ESOS (aged 14) said that he thought that schools should sart later. To cope with the teenage need for lots of sleep!!

ChrisB said...

Sally I'm exhausted just reading this you need more than a cup of tea, never mind not eating in the day you need a treat or two.

Alice Band said...

Dear God Sally we really are living parallel lives! Was up all last night with the 2 year old Red-Head due to copious amounts of vomit - Husband of course is away this weekend...And have just spent seemingly days on the phone to Keycamp to organise a camping holiday.

Anonymous said...

sally, are we adding next to the list with hbsc and other wbankers on it? enidd's getting worried there'll be no one left...

sallywrites said...

Hi Chris!

The trouble is that my clothes don't think that I need any treats!

Hi Alice!

Good luck with Keycamp!!!!

Enidd!

Indeed............but there's another installment coming up on BIG institutions...........

Alice Band said...

Sally,
Do you realise that you are immortalised in a Freya North novel? Also think I have alienated myself on PA's blog as was not that sympathetic, especially when one silly woman wrote that she was actually crying. Hell, no wants to see a little thing hurt but having gone from calling a doctor out when my son and FIRST born threw up to these days ringing around nurse friends who might have steritrips in the house, I have become hardened to the drama of accidents with children and would now do anything unless life threatening to avoid 8 hours in A&E!!

sallywrites said...

Hi Alice. I can't see that you have alienated yourself. your comment seems innocuous to me!

Very nice of Freya North...........