We did it everyone. We did it. Yes, we got to the end of another teaching year and managed to survive the hectic last week of term, a week packed deadlines caused by the end of the school year meaning that there can be no more deadlines after the end of the year.
Among all the normal stuff that takes place in a normal school week I also managed to include a leaving dinner with a colleague (I was reminded at 7.00am on Monday of a dinner engagement at 7.00pm in the evening), many hours of rehearsals for the end of years arts Eisteddfod, a staff end of year do, hosting the Eisteddfod and then the fun and games of the last day of term itself. But we made it. And it really does feel like a team effort.
It was certainly very nice to have a few days off before our next adventure: a trip to Hanoi, from where I currently write. So far Trixie, Edwin and I have explored the back streets and lake of the old city as well as watching a water puppet show. We were though presented with a Lawrence Family dilemma earlier in the day. Read on.
When she was in year two Trixie had a visit from older students into her one of her lessons. All perfectly normal and fine. I remember asking her about it and she seemed to recall that girls from year five came to visit. I was intrigued by how a year two defined big girls so I made the necessary enquiries. Following further questioning I managed to establish that small girls, according the Trixie, should be reclassified as big girls at the end of year five. Simple.
Fast forward to Friday 23rd June, the end of year five, and Trixie is now a big girl, but this presented us with a problem at the airport this morning. At the departure gate the option for passengers who were business class (not us), disabled (not us), requiring special assistance (I am quite particular about my coffee, but I don't think that was what they meant, so not us) or those with small children being allowed to board first was announced. But did this party of Lawrences really have any small children anymore? Trixie, by her own definition, was a big girl, and so we were in a quandary. Should we reject the opportunity to board first as we were all too old or should we bend the many rules? Edwin settled it by saying "I have never been first on to a plane before," and so off we dashed before we had time to consider the whys and wherefores any further.
Off to the perfume pagoda tomorrow.