Me wishing it were a policy is me simplifying the solution. All I can hope for is that classrooms remain open and safe.

I am sure a few people reading this might think I am going overboard or overthinking it. But I don’t think so.

"I have so many clear memories of [pumpkin-carving] with my parents growing up. It was family time, time together to get a bit messy and just have fun."

As Joan got older I found that she placed huge value on absolutely everything.

"I savoured the time, the fact that she is still so young and so happy to be with her mom, shopping for toys."

Throughout Joan’s school years, I have wanted her to excel and do well likely because I associated feeling good about it myself when this happened to me as a child.

I really worried that I wouldn't be able to help Joan at all with Irish at all when she started school

My daughter Joan recently joined a local football team. She has played various sports through school and bursts of tennis in our local club but up until this month, she hasn’t been part of a team.

As our children grow, it is a tough lesson to learn that their parents aren’t always going to be focusing on them - we aren’t always going to be available and that is okay

"Speaking to friends over the years, they have also said that at times their children find shifting gear from school to home life at the end of the day challenging."