My blog is fast approaching its first anniversary and I find myself in a place I couldn’t have dreamt of a year ago.  As a family, we seem to have experienced a Series of Unfortunate Events this year, starting with the death of my father-in-law in January (we all hated those books, by the way).  On the other hand, there have been plenty of highlights – that whoop! when GP1 saw his Standard Grade results, doughnutting on Coll, learning (perhaps too generous a term in my case) to surf, the end of week concert at NYBBS – there were lots more. 

Whilst my blog began as a commentary on the boys’ goings on at school, it has evolved into a much more personal online diary, with random mutterings about family, work and, more recently, illness.  Whether or not anyone else reads what I write, I have found being able to write extremely therapeutic

and I think the blog has really helped maintain my sanity over the last few months.  It may not, of course, have helped maintain my work output, but that’s another story!   I’ve become more confident about what I write and who I tell, although I like to maintain the pretense of anonymity, mostly to stop casual readers identifying the children immediately.  But a discussion on anonymity over at Mother at Large a few weeks ago made me wonder how much my boys’ teachers really needed to know about the workings or otherwise of my insides. 

At the moment, I feel like I’m clinging on to an out of control horse, careering down a lane I hadn’t spotted with no idea where I’m going to end up.  The family are bouncing around in a cart just behind me.  Whether the teachers need to know this or not, I’m planning to carry on blogging, whatever the next few months bring.  I have wondered, though, as my jottings have become more self-centred, whether the EduBuzz platform was the most appropriate place to write about this strange journey, and whether I should move the blog.  I asked David and Don the other day what they thought, and whether what I was writing was still appropriate to the site as a whole.  I’m really glad to say they have been very supportive – I’m sure I didn’t really expect anything else – and I hope David won’t mind me quoting from his email:-

“One of the problems that can happen in schools is that parents can be seen in a narrow way, as people who get newsletters, attend parents’ nights and so on, but don’t have a life beyond that role that needs to be considered by the school – and you’re helping to counteract that by building up a much richer picture of what it’s like being a parent – if a temporarily  unlucky one – these days. At a time where parental involvement is being actively encouraged because it matters so much we need to listen to every authentic parent voice we can get.

There’s a common theme in the internal organs story, in a sense, as you describe being on the receiving end of another public service. Whether the NHS is encouraging patient blogging locally I don’t know, but we are quite happy to host your one until they get around to it!”

 So I’m staying put, much my preferred option as EduBuzz has proved a comfortable and accommodating community.  If teachers or others do think it’s inappropriate, well they don’t need to read it.  I do hope you’ll all bear with me over the next few months as I go through chemotherapy.  I’m sure once it’s routine and I feel in control once more I’ll find plenty to write about school and the boys’ activities.  I might even regain my sense of humour (I don’t think it’s too far away).  GP2, by the way, thinks I should get stick on eyebrows as well as a wig.