A Day in the Life of an Extraordinary Day by Geraldine Kidd
The first round of annoying ringing brings me back from the land of nod, as I slowly prise my eyes open and let them adjust to the first glints of the early morning light filtering in through a closed curtain, I reach over and carefully hit the snooze button and in one swift move, roll back over and snuggle back under the covers for five more minutes!
I barely drift back into sleep when the tone vibrates through me again and I wake with a start and snooze the alarm again, but this time sleep does not take me away. I lie and think of what the day ahead has in store for me today. Is it torrential rain, or sunny just for a pleasant change; will the traffic be kind and will I succeed in finding a space in the west car park or do I have to enter through the new rear car park gates. I like routine, any little change on a work day will knock out the whole thing out of synch and how do I get it all back on track? With that, the final round of ringing brings me out of the daze and I grab my mobile. 5.25am.
I sit up on the side of the bed and sigh. I rub my eyes and try focus on the pile of clothes I carefully laid out the night before. I grab them and head to the bathroom to change in silence; I don’t want the rest of the house to wake at this ungodly hour this is my cross to bear. I change quickly and do the usual routine of brushing teeth, washing and combing hair. I swear I can do all this with my eyes closed still held in a deep sleep. With a quick spray of perfume I’m dressed for the day ahead!
I fetch my ID card from the bedside table, along with my book and phone. I was never one to enjoy reading but it provides me with a tunnel to where I can escape for half an hour and be free from the goings on around me. My book is my ticket to a, albeit and very short, vacation! I gently kiss my Colin’s cheek as I head out along the landing to the kids rooms. The girls first. I quietly pull the covers back over them and kiss each in turn on the forehead. I head to my son’s room next, yep still asleep and last nights toys and clothes are still lying on the floor, nothing new then! I prise the PSP from his hands and lay it on his drawers.
Downstairs I open the door to let the dog out, put the kettle on and bread in the toaster. My morning routine, again with the routine! - consists of opening various blinds and curtains, feeding the fish, getting my pre packed lunch from the fridge, and loading or unloading the washing machine. I leave home at 6am with the familiar sounds from Boogie on the radio. I get to the car park, yes the west side and clock in 6.58am.
I work for the Scottish Government, within a small but very busy finance team responsible for paying invoices. We log, monitor, track, pay, upload, transfer and recharge. Morning is spend getting up to date with emails and new invoices and basically sorting out my days work in order of importance and also for AM and PM work. I find it easier this way, I like to be organised and have it all in order. A cup of tea and my fruit salad and I’m set for the mornings work ahead. I stop for lunch at 1pm and escape in the words of Harlan Coben. My afternoon is very much the tying up session. I log everything on the electronic records and make sure everything is ready to be entered on to the accounting system. My afternoon is mostly spent entering invoices within this system. It’s a slow process but you must be accurate. At 5pm my energy is dwindling and the day starts to move on at a snail’s pace, roll on 6pm!
As I work in City, there is no point at leaving during the peak times, the traffic is heavy and you end up getting home at the same time you would if you leave 1 hour later. I choose to work longer days over a shorter week to fit in with my family life and childminders (My mum and Gran). My journey home is slow but at least the traffic is lighter. I hit the small pile up at the new road just before the bridge, outside lane to cut through the first set of traffic, then I manoeuvre myself into the joining lane and out into the next outside lane, I know it is blocked further down but it gets me further up the queue. I merge into the correct lane and head on to the bridge slowly.
I arrive home just before 7pm. I flop on to the couch with a sigh and kick off my shoes. The kids are upstairs. I can hear Colin talking over the splashes in the bathroom. I’m sure my eyes were only shut for a second as the familiar cries of ‘mummy’ bring me back. I brush their wet hair and tell them to fetch the story book, as I listen Michael’s school stories. Once the girls are in bed and Michael is back in the world of sonic the hedgehog on his PSP, I make food for me and Colin and a cup of tea, we settle down to Eastenders on the telly together.
Every day is an extraordinary day to me as a parent. My kids make me glow with affection every time I think of them or they smile in that silly way that makes them them. I do what I do for them and although everyday day is a routine, no two days are ever the same as they grow and change everyday, blink and you will miss it. I give thanks to every day for the miracle that is motherhood as it is another extraordinary day in my life.
