Hey Friend!
How’s it going?
I’ve been back at work this week but I enjoyed the novelty of two weeks paid time off for the Easter break and wondered why I took so many years to work in a school.
Previously, I’ve had to be content with a couple of days here, a couple there, relying on my mum to cover the rest of the holidays throughout the year. Summer was the worst with only being able to take a week off. Last year for the first time I had a whole four weeks off PAID with my children and I loved it. We did day trips, movie nights, board game marathons. I didn’t have to wonder what I was missing out on because I was right there.
All that being said, I hadn’t anticipated we’d be without Wi-Fi for a good chunk of the holidays. No big deal, right?
Wrong.
A lack of Wi-fi didn’t just hinder fun stuff like being able to watch movies on Netflix (being limited to basic Freeview channels was hard and I don’t even watch TV that much. I know, first world problems. Your eye-roll is justified). But it also limited revision time for the girls.
Gone are the days of writing out pages and pages of notes. Now there are apps and programs to create your own flashcards, online videos with test questions at the end. None of which was accessible for about a week. Who knew reverting back to the old-school method could be a source of stress..?
Then there was Little Dude who asked me every. Single. Day. Sometimes several times a day, if he could play on Roblox, or search for something on the internet. I do not have unlimited data on my phone so it was a no, but heaven forbid he saw me using my phone for anything else other than messaging.
“How come you get to you use your data but I don’t?”
“Because it’s my phone…”
“But that’s not fair!”
Isn’t though? I mean, seeing as I’m the one paying for said data, don’t I get to decide what I do with it?
He went to ask Older Miss if he could use her iPad.
“No data.” She said.
“But Mum said Dad gave you extra data!”
“Not on my iPad.”
He stomped off to his room.
This pattern went on for several days.
He came back and asked if he could use my laptop to search for something to make (he usually says origami and then chooses something that require skewers, cardboard and a whole load of time. And glue. So not origami at all).
“No internet, remember?”
“Data?” He said in a ‘why-do-I-have-to-explain-to-you-how-this-works?’ kind of tone.
I explained I don’t have data on my laptop and he sighed a heavy sigh, like this is a trauma he’ll one day tell his kids about.
I told him a lack of internet is affecting the whole family but he’s the only one that’s moaning about it.
“That’s because you all have phones with data and I don’t!”
To be fair, he was right and, as I couldn’t really argue with that one, I just shrugged my shoulders. It was easier than getting into a discussion with an eight-year-old about mobile phone contracts and bills in general.
Especially as he pays for nothing and I pay for everything.
We can discuss further when he has a job…
Wi-Fi was restored with four days of the holidays remaining and all was right with the world again.
Apart from work issues, it was actually nice to have more conversations; to not hear the children arguing for half an hour about what to watch. To be present.
The Wi-Fi may accidentally on purpose be disconnected again in the near future…
Speak soon x
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