Every Thursday for 2 terms I picked up a child and brought him home with my DC, gave him his tea, and on more than one occasion had to clean up a very messy toilet 🤮
This was to help his mother because she’d dropped lots of hints. She lived a 1.5 hr round trip from the school whereas I was 5 minutes away. She had a one year old. So, you know, doing something no one had ever done in the history of humanity. Juggling 2 children. She was a SAHM.
As it happens my work load and mental load was greater, but I was trying to be kind.
The child’s father used to collect him on his way home from work. He worked about 15 miles away from our house, so not close. One day he was so embarrassed to be picking the child up from me again that to reciprocate he said “oh I would love to take <little Whatgood> with us the next time we go hiking”. I said “that would be lovely, I’m sure xxxx would like that very much”.
It must have been a hollow invitation because I never heard any more from him.
Thats not the only favour I did her but it’s the most memorable.
I discovered that in the school holidays she and her husband had organised a trip to a sports activity and had invited 6 other boys, out of a class with 9 boys in it. So only my DC and 2 other boys had been left out.
I don’t wish her any harm, I just think she’s pathetic and would walk a long way to cross the road to avoid her. I believe the whole thing was about desperate social climbing: she was trying to pick out who was “worth it”
Alas I fear the climbing will get her nowhere, Because she and her family are nothing if not mediocre, in every respect. Grandparents pulled the plug on the fees after a spell too, it must be harder to pick ‘em out at current school.
Mediocre is fine, but not a good combination with malicious.
As I say I wouldn’t waste energy wishing her harm, but I have never forgotten.