End of an era

When Anni was a baby and I was diagnosed with cancer, a very dear friend said to me, "Just you wait, you'll being seeing Annabel to that school." I hung on to that and she was right. So this picture above was a landmark day for me; this was her first day at primary school in 1999. Just look at those shiny shoes...you can probably see their faces in them. My lovely Dad used to polish them every day. Mum and Dad faithfully turned up just before I left for school, took over wherever I was up to and saw Tom and Anni off to school. They used to get breakfast and second cups of tea brought to them on trays on their knees whilst they watched their favourite cartoons. If ever they forgot anything, it was Granddad to the rescue.

He never got to see Anni in her high school uniform. He was in hospital when she started high school and died a few weeks later.

Well Ephesians 3 v 20 tells us that God "is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine" and on Thursday, I saw Anni finish her compulsory education and Tom finished high school forever on Friday. I am no longer a school mum. I am looking back on their school days with a lot of happy memories and gratitude. Most of all I am thankful to God that I was able to be there for them. I am thankful to my wonderful parents and all they have done to help and support us through them and to all the teachers who have taught and inspired them. 

Special mention must go to Mr Green, Tom's History teacher. He was his form tutor from year 8 to year 11 and he pushed and drove him until he created a student who got full marks in his A level History coursework. He knows Tom inside out, knows what makes him tick. Tom always said that when I met with Mr Green at parents' evening it was like when Hitler had tea with Mussolini (ie bad news for Tom!) Most of all, he inspired Tom to love History enough to want to study it at university. 

I am also thankful for good friends; Tom's who turned out en masse to see him baptised, even though they don't share his faith, and Anni's who are just lovely and such fun to have around. As someone who was bullied a lot at school, I am thankful that our daughter has never once come home from school upset by her friends or her peers. 

In 4 weeks all the exams will be over too and then in 6 weeks Tom will be off to Borneo for a month. Our house is going to be rather quiet...