What I Go To School For

I am really sad to say that for the first time in years we didn't celebrate Thanksgiving this evening.

Partly it was because I was in town all day and couldn't do any cooking and wasn't even sure when I was actually getting home, partly it was because the Don was going out for dinner with work colleagues and wouldn't be home anyway, partly it was because I knew I'd be having a large lunch and therefore it would be a wasted tea, for me at least, and partly it was because I hadn't actually made an effort to go shopping all week because I knew the points above.

But apart from totally ignoring Thanksgiving, it was a totally exciting day, and one that reminded me to be totally thankful once again for totally good friends!

It was the day of the City of Aberdeen and South Aberdeenshire Scottish Schools heats at ASV, and a day that iChum, OC, Toots and I had been planning for the last year - as in planning to ditch school entirely (not heading back in at 2pm) and spending the afternoon instead at the cinema or going out for lunch. 

So plans had been made, Giraffe (at 40% off) had been booked, husbands were lined up to pick up the other kids from school if we weren't home in time, and the heats were about to begin...

...when the school heating broke down and text, email and app messages came buzzing in asking us to pick up our kids as soon as possible.  Except I was poolside with no phone signal, car keys tucked safe in my locker and totally unaware, while iChum was in the gallery totally aware but with no way to contact me, no car keys to drive home to pick up the others (since we all came in together), and even if she had both she still didn't have enough car seats to come back and pick us up and get us all home again, and the realisation that we were each others 'designated local emergency contacts' for just such a time as this.

The fastest 50m 10-12 year olds in South Aberdeenshire, off
to the Scottish Schools finals in Glasgow in January!

And so the husbands came to the rescue by finishing off meetings, juggling other meetings, arranging to work from home, providing lunch and afternoon activities to the school-less-three, and generally being superstars.  And since iChum and I knew that they were more than capable of doing all that, there was nothing much more we could do but carry on with our afternoon plans...

Still, the bragging the OC, Toots and Nigel were going to enjoy the next day about not being at school was kinda lost with everyone getting the day off school.  Of all the days!!