Category Archives: Surreal life

Does anyone have a translation book, app, or—better yet—a small yellow fish you pop in your ear that will tell you what your fae child actually means? I understand she’s still getting to grips with language. I understand that, because of the way her brain works (ooh look, fireworks!) she sometimes says things she doesn’tContinue reading “Is there a translation service?”

We’re not quite sure what happened last night. My husband and I have chalked it up to a glitch in the Matrix. If my fae child knows, she’s not telling. School has been back for nearly a week—not the longest time, but long enough for routines to start settling and for us to spot theContinue reading “Task successfully failed”

Socks in our house are a bit of an odd item of apparel. I’m the only one who can stand to wear them indoors—and I have to wear them. My husband, I think, believes they’re evil and does his best to destroy them with alarming alacrity. And our daughter… well, she has her own rituals.Continue reading “The rituals of socks”

For most of the time, I forget that our normal is actually insane. That most people don’t need three calendars for one small child and a meal rota published on the dining room wall, colour-coded so she can choose from it. Most children have two options for dinner: take it or leave it. So lastContinue reading “Three calendars and a cake day”

At the gym my fae child attends for sports club, they keep a care plan on her (a bit like an abbreviated EHCP). It follows her into and out of every lesson. On Wednesdays, she has back-to-back classes in different areas, so to save time and stress, I collect her from one class and takeContinue reading “The missing paper”

My daughter needs a reset switch. I say this while loving her to bits, but sometimes she does just need some way of being able to reset her brain. Especially when she is tired, or ill, or out of spoons. So about 90% of the time.  She will put us in situations where there isContinue reading “The no-win situation”

So, last night, I attended my daughter’s parents’ evening. This was an experience. I used to attend parent’s evenings all the time, but as the teacher – so it used to be an exercise in tactfully explaining to parents that the reason that their little urchin wasn’t getting the top grades in my subject (Science)Continue reading “Parents evening”

My fae has an unquenchable need to run. It doesn’t matter where we are, or where we are going, she needs, Needs, NEEDS to run there. If we are going nowhere, she will run in circles. Recently, she has announced that she is not running but hunting. I asked her what she was hunting, andContinue reading “Shh, I’m huntin’ shops.”

My daughter has some eclectic eating habits. This is not unheard of for children who are as spicy as she is. In fact, it is not unheard of for children at all. (I actually think that the only reason that it is not seen in adults so much is, adults have more control over theirContinue reading “Sneaking food”