I'm going to be lonely!

It's interesting that when your children leave home, life changes forever. My boys are now back at university after the Christmas break, they have eaten me out of house and home, demolished all the cake, sweets, chocolates and emptied my bank account in the process!

Do I miss them? Of course I do, they have been my life for more than twenty years and they have no idea how lonely I feel or alone when they have departed.  They are boys so they don't realise how it feels to be in an empty house without the patter of their feet, the mess in their rooms, the guitars playing, or, the buzz and bleeps of mobile phones. I look forward to them bringing girlfriends home so I can enjoy the company and have a house filled with laughter and fun.

Cats are in charge'

Did I tell you I am the proud owner of 2 moggies, my first in command is 'the duchess' aka Cinders, regal and majestic, she has ruled the Palace Griffiths for almost 17 years (149) cat years, she is a truly magnificent cat!  She is both regal and we, as her loyal subjects, adore and behold her.  

In recent months she has been losing weight and started to yowl rather than miaow! She's been exceptionally noisy and has taken to sitting on me in the middle of the night, not always comfortable for either of us!

So, off to see Ruth our vet last week to get an opinion on what should be done with the duchess so 1. We could get some sleep, and 2. Make her stop losing weight. 

A blood test seemed to be the answer, not sure who hot in more of a state - me or the duchess, probably me! I made a hasty retreat to the waiting room while vet and nurse did the shaving and extracted blood from my poor little duchess! 

She seemed perfectly fine, I however, was almost beside myself in the waiting room. 

OMG, Student debt rant

I do wonder sometimes what life will throw at us next! I start to think my life is 'normal' whatever that actually is, when, this wonderful curved ball comes from nowhere and surprises the hell out of me! But hey, I can deal, right?

I'm suffering from the pain of having to support 2 children # adults through university, bank of mum and dad providing income support, despite supposedly being of the Middle classes, I feel like I am very poor in so many ways, I have dipped into my savings to support and maintain my sons through the education system #David Cameron! Do you really know how hard we have to work to do that!

When I should be enjoying and reaping the benefits of my life I am having to dig deep to provide for my sons  education of which they will never pay off their debts to either state or me! 

I really start to wonder what more is expected of us as parents? We are more fortunate than some but less fortunate than others, we get little support because, according to student finance we earn too much! Ha, ha, I wish we did, if this is the case, then why, every single month do I have to go into my savings to substitute my children? 

I am disappointed in our education system in so many ways, of course, I want my children to get the best out of life and succeed, at what cost foes this come though? My husband and I had our family in our late 30's meaning we are now approaching retirement and need all our money to support our old age not our student age sons! 

Where is the help? Nowhere, life is tough enough and getting worse for the likes of the ageing parent and their offspring, I too want to enjoy my life but neither have the opportunity or funding to do so, I doubt that my sons will be able to provide for me when they will be so saddled with debt from being students and spending the next 20 years paying it off!