I am in full January mode, struggling to remember what year it is, searching my bank account for traces of money and wondering why my jeans have all shrunk.

TICK, tick. Surely I’m not the only one who can hear that blasted clock ticking louder by the day as we get closer to Christmas? Only four more sleeps. Yes, FOUR! Even writing that is sending my blood pressure soaring. No, I’m not “all set for Christmas” as so many have asked me since the first of December, in fact, I’m not even nearly ready.

RECENTLY, a certain college student I know was visited by one of those most lovely of people, the television licence inspector, writes Tric Kearney.

I’ve been a mother over 20 years, although I do look a mere child. In all that time, I have regularly shared great advice with my children. But, hard as it is to believe, I don’t think they’ve appreciated any of it. In fact, they even think they know better.

OUR house reminds me of our children, it has a constant desire to part us from our money. I don’t mind when it‘s nice things like a new couch or television, but who wants to spend money on gutters or broken decking, not to mention a new boiler? Of course, they are all necessary, but they’re not the most glamorous of goods to go shopping for.

I’M by nature an unseemly healthy individual, who rarely gets anything worse than a headache. However, In the past few days I’ve been decidedly under the weather, writes Tric Kearney.

THE other day, in a moment of madness, I sat down to help my daughter with her ‘homework’, writes Tric Kearney.

ISN’T it strange how we get used to the quirks of our home, the lock that sticks or the window that doesn’t open. Or maybe that’s just me?

My apologies if you were disturbed last Wednesday around lunchtime, by a loud hissing noise, not unlike the air leaking out of a giant balloon.

September. Can anyone believe it’s here?, asks Tric Kearney.

IT was our wedding anniversary last week. For more years than I care to admit, yer man and myself have been married, and it looks like neither of us is bailing out yet.

I’m giddy with excitement, like a child waiting for Christmas. One more sleep and I’m off on holidays. Yesterday, while walking with a friend, a plane flew overhead and I felt a thrill of delight, writes Tric Kearney.

My youngest has been itching to get a job this summer and finally secured a few hours locally. This morning she set off with a skip in her step for her first day, writes Tric Kearney.

I FEEL lucky to be here today writing this, as as I’ve quite honestly nearly melted in the heatwave.

You've got to love summer, waking each morning hoping it won’t rain, free from the slavery of homework and after-school activities.

Today is the final day of Leaving Cert, 2018. I know many finished days ago, but some poor souls actually chose

LAST week, in the honeymoon days of the return of my college children, I became quite emotional as I prepared dinner for the six of us, writes Tric Kearney.

Summer has arrived which means for a short time at least, the numbers in our house swell with the return of college children, and their belongings, writes Tric Kearney.

DO I hold grudges? Certainly not. At least that’s what I thought.

“I’ll do home economics,” our youngest said when asked about her final subject choice for the Junior Cert.

‘WHAT are you giving up for Lent?’ Surely this is one of the top five questions asked in Ireland during the first week of Lent and rarely spoken about in the weeks after as one by one we succumb to temptation.

THIS weekend yer man and I are jetting off to a foreign city for a few days. It was a complete surprise, given to us by our children as a Christmas gift. No doubt as a thank you for the amazing job we have done as parents, so I suppose we shouldn’t have been so surprised.

FROM my earliest tree-climbing days, I believed I was equal to any boy and went out of my way as a young girl to prove it. Today, supposedly all grown up, my opinion remains unchanged and I continue to argue the fact if challenged.

It’s My Life with Tric Kearney. 

After all the rushing about before Christmas, I love this post-season calm. Sitting around doing nothing and believing I’ve been very productive if I venture for the shortest of walks, writes Tric Kearney.

LAST week, I was struck down by a dreadful affliction which affects large numbers of the population but most are unaware of its existence, says Tric Kearney. 

YESTERDAY, I sterilised my kitchen, or at least cleaned it magnificently. While doing so, I found a receipt in a jug, put there two weeks ago and instantly forgotten. It was for runners I’d bought for my daughter’s birthday. She seems to have rare feet as once again they were the wrong size.

In an attempt to cheer my hair up over the past few weeks, I’ve used half the household budget

AS a student nurse in the ’80s sexism was alive and well and a lot more blatant than it is today. Despite the fact it seriously annoyed me, I often ignored it believing most men thought it a bit of fun rather than insulting.

WHAT is it that attracts us to each other? Looks? Personality? Humour? 

For a few hours, I become a little unhinged and pack numerous black bags with clothes. I then develop a form of blindness which allows me to ignore them for weeks, writes Tric Kearney

While flicking through Facebook the other day, I stumbled across a celebrity I’d never seen before sharing with the world her secret to looking beautiful.

I’d love to say I ‘d learned a great lesson in life from my Leaving Cert disappointment but that would be a lie, says Tric Kearney.

Yesterday I walked from my kitchen to the hall and saw the front door lying wide open. Full panic mode swept over me, my heart racing, fear and dread taking my breath away.

Recently one of my children has spoken of the possibility of leaving home to work in Dublin. I was only a little younger than she is when I left to live in Cork.

The other day, I was doing the ironing... I’ll just leave that sentence there, so anyone who doesn’t read on will think what a wonderful wife I am.

Twenty-two years ago yer man and I had a very grown up discussion about moving house, as both of us wished to move somewhere a little more country.