Saturday 7 July 2012

The End Is Nigh ... And I , For One , Couldn't Be Happier

Sonata:
Another two weeks and I'll have retired ! I'm going to sit in the sun and blink occasionally like an ageing tortoise .
If I don't spin off in the stratosphere between now and then , of course . At the moment , I'm assembling little presents for the pre-schoolers . There being nearly forty of them , I went for cheap and cheerful , while not irresponsible . Unfortunately this precluded buying of a huge sack of bright green lollies and bubble gum to shovel into plastic bags , tying a knot in each and hurling them over my shoulder as I leave .
I trawled cut-price shops till I found some 59 cent packs of chunky coloured pencils to add colouring pages , a ribbon and a little card to . An hour to assemble , I thought .Three hours later , I'm just finishing . My own fault .... why I started drawing a little mouse on each card as well the child's name and message , Heaven knows .
Still , now I've just got to find a suitable something for my colleagues . It's for moments like this that bubble bath and pralines were invented .
And what am I getting ? Ahhh! It's the worst-kept secret in town . Each mother was surreptitiously given a brightly coloured A4 sheet of paper in a plastic ring-fold sleeve a few weeks ago ... and lately these are being given back . Just not to me . Yesterday a colleague was riffling through a folder of them , chatting to us all as she went . "Curry Soup !" , she said surprised. "Oh ! Erm... I mean I must buy some Cup'a'Soup today . Curry-flavoured .... " she petered off lamely , it being half past eight in the morning and us all drinking coffee .
So it's a fair bet that I'm getting a collection of the mothers' favourite recipes . And I couldn't be happier .... it's a lovely idea . I'm fairly convinced the definitive Sajoer Lodeh ( vegetables in coconut milk ) recipe will be in there , too . The one that I promised you and colleague has been evasive about since I asked . ) The chances are , I'll be blinking like a fat ageing tortoise by the end of the summer .

14 comments:

Marcheline said...

Congratulations! Knowing you, you'll be busy with loads of creative projects once you don't have to work any more... I'm giving you about a week of sitting around blinking before you're up and at it. 8-)

Friko said...

Blinking? Blinking fat tears away, more like.
What will you do without the little darlings?

You'll be back supply-teaching in no time. or you would be if you were in the UK.

The Cranky Crone, she lives alone! said...

Happy retirement! You must have a lovely class of children to go to so much trouble, and your surprise present sounds fabulous, I hope you share some of the recipes with us.

English Rider said...

The favorite recipes gift is a great idea. I hope you walk away with The Secret.

rachel said...

Wonderful! Let me tell you, retirement is the best thing ever invented. You will be far too busy to do much blinking, but you'll be having lots of fun.

Tattieweasle said...

Oh to laugh or to cry - and that was just me saying goodbye to our lovely pre prep teacher - she was doing both!
Think the recipe collection is brilliant - you will share won't you as now I am back on the internet properly I am visiting like mad!

Liz Hinds said...

What a fabulous present that will be!

And you will adore retirement! x

Rattling On said...

Only two weeks for me as well, but only til the holiday. Lucky, lucky you...

Mrs Smith said...

What a gorgeous parting gift for your little charges ! Retirement sounds like an interesting prospect. What will you get up to I wonder? I look forward to reading all about it.

SmitoniusAndSonata said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
SmitoniusAndSonata said...

Friko, I'm not a teacher ... I'm a Terrible Two (and Three) herder and there isn't much demand for supply-herders .
I was asked to come back next term to work one-on-one with a child whose first two years have been rather scarey , but I feel it's time to stop . And the trouble is , however long I go on for , there will always be one who needs extra help to settle in .
I'm going to miss the children , my colleagues ... and my pay-cheque .... but I'm not going to miss cycling through the dark on icy roads every morning in the winter .

love those cupcakes said...

Welcome to the club! Membership is highly recommended.

Lucille said...

That is a very good present idea. A teacher friend of mine laments the number of scented candles and novelty mugs she gets lumbered with each Christmas.
Enjoy yourself. You can even look forward to winter.

colleen said...

Hope all goes well today. I had a lovely last day at work - people hardly knew me because I was on a secondment, so no embarassing speeches. After that the world's your oyster.