Julie Jay: Oops, I dropped him off at school again — even though it was closed

When you forget a big thing like when your child is due to finish up for school holidays, you have to be prepared to pay the price

Julie Jay: "The building was dark — there were no cars in the car park and no buzz of activity. A sinking feeling engulfed me — I had forgotten that there was actually no school today because school was closed for the summer. Yes, the previous day had been Number One’s last day."

A TERRIBLE fright befell us last Thursday morning. It all started out as normal: I got a reluctant Number One out of bed, gave him breakfast, of which he ate approximately 50%, got him dressed in something that resembled weather-appropriate attire, brushed his teeth (it’s a team effort) and got his hair somewhat combed. Lunchbox at the ready, we went through the usual routine of waiting for Number One to get into his car seat, a process expedited by my reminders that we didn’t want to be deireanach (despite this being the case most days).

It was only when I pulled up outside the naíonara that the realisation hit me like a ton of post-Brexit extortionately priced bricks. The building was dark — there were no cars in the car park and no buzz of activity. A sinking feeling engulfed me — I had forgotten that there was actually no school today because school was closed for the summer. Yes, the previous day had been Number One’s last day, and it had totally gone over my unkempt head.