Thread 49 - Covid GCSE Cohort - The nights are drawing in...

[OrangeSpicedBun]

Autumn 🍂 well and truly underway, has been chilly this week !

This is a support thread for our young adults post GCSEs 2020, regardless of their educational setting, and their results ( or life updates for those who went into work or have had results earlier). It is respectfully requested that all are supportive and helpful to each other. If you want to start a debate, e.g state vs private, uni vs employment please don't within this thread.

Some of us have been here since first thread back in yr10, some will be new. Everyone has been friendly and helpful in the past. Everyone is welcome. It is hoped this will continue. We were previously on the secondary board and then further education, now we shall be here in 'Parents of Adult Children' gulp

Our DS/DD may continue down various pathways ( employment, apprenticeships, higher ed). Experience is that everyone is welcomed wherever, whatever their child is doing we have some in work, gap years , apprenticeships etc too. Lots of contributors with different experiences and always sympathy and advice to be had.
Previous thread :

www.mumsnet.com/talk/parents_of_adult_children/4880640-thread-48-covid-gcse-cohort-summer-before-year-2-uni?latest=1

Merry Christmas, one and all. We've had a quieter one than usual with our two DDs away but it's been nice to have time with just DS. We have no family locally so never have much of a crowd in any case! It's been a lovely day and we are all very full. Wishing you all the best for the rest of the festive season.

Happy Christmas all. Love the updates, specially @Zebracat . 7 of us for Christmas lunch and I seem to have catered for 12, lots of left overs EVEN pigs in blankets! Now nearly at my parents' house in north London for big faulty get together (16). Slightly late and I have the potatoes and Yorkshires 😊😬

Merry Christmas All! We decamped three miles down the road. MIL lives in a lovely village and by the sea , just the four of us and the dog, mostly eating and going for walks.
Lovely to read @Zebracat

Merry Christmas everyone x

Merry Christmas everyone.

Ds said as soon as he woke up today, he would drive to his house in Brighton. It's 5pm and he's not up yet. He infuriates me when just sleeps all day, he was up at about midday yesterday, I went to bed 10.30pm last night and he was still up, so I was hoping he went to bed and would be up today. DH has been telling me to go wake him up. But I daren't. I am sure this is why Ds has so much work to do. He sleeps too much. He keeps saying he's got self diagnosed adhd because he can't concentrate and get his work done. But I think a lot of his problem is too much sleeping and gaming.

@Zebracat lovely to hear about your DD’s progress!

That is really good news @Zebracat. Long may it continue. Your poor dh feeling so rotten. I think one of the characteristics of Covid is that it can make you feel acutely depressed all of a sudden. Dd1 was like this a few weeks ago.

Ds finally got up just before 6pm. Had a bit of dinner then headed off to Brighton. Neither of us wanted him heading off in the evening. I helped defrost his car as it was frozen. 30 mins after he left, he phoned to ask if his tablets were on the table (antibiotics for acne) yes they were. So he's just driven back to collect them 🤦‍♀️ hopefully he will get go Brighton by 11pm.
He knows how to wind me up.

@icanbewhatiwant I think they all know how to wind us up!

We’ve been away over Christmas visiting family. DD and DS have been remarkably sociable and have dialled back the teenage grumpiness (DD hates being referred to as a teenager, but she is only 19). I’m amazed they aren’t hungover today given the amount of alcohol my sister provided them with yesterday. We’re travelling home, and DH is driving. So all they have to do is sit in the back without arguing.

I am not loving being back at work!

Me too @craggyrat !

I've just done one of those mundane things you do in this lull and checked my NI contributions. I feel so old. I am up to date with 41 years contributions (checked because I've had periods of self-employment) so maximum met and nothing to top up. BUT the government would like another 9 years out of me before I'm eligible to retire. Obviously I understand it's swings and roundabouts with insurance. 50 years of work has just hit me as a very long time.

@EwwSprouts - yes I double checked mine recently too and made sure I knew where my various pensions were etc inc 5 years of an NHS one from 1993!

Merry Christmas all (slightly belated!), lovely to read what you’ve all been up to, such different days for us all. We’ve had a busy couple of days. 8 of us here for Christmas Day which was lovely and at my DSis with extended family for Boxing Day. Today has been doing a big shop for real food instead of Christmas food and getting DS2 going on his revision for gcse mocks as soon as school starts again. To say he is not enthusiastic is the understatement of the year..

@craggyrat Hope it's worth a bit!

Last of the turkey here tonight, in coronation sauce and with new potatoes. All the desserts have gone.

@EwwSprouts - I won't be retiring to the South of France on it. More like a weekend in the Lakes! Turkey sounds lovely. We still have a raspberry frozen Marks and Spencer roulade and a bottle of bucks fizz. Held over for NYE now!

We have some Christmas pud left, but the last of the turkey leftovers were dispatched today.

My elderly dad was looking incredibly frail when I visited him, and I've researched all I can... it's now over to the hospital social care placement team. I've never been very good at waiting for people to call me back.

Sorry to hear about your father @PhotoDad . My in laws were looking very poorly at Xmas - couldn't come for lunch and FIL just had early dementia diagnosis.

Sorry to read @PhotoDad hopefully the team will take prompt action .

Happy new year everyone. I had 2 days over Christmas when I had recovered from Covid, but I now seem to have some sort of upper respiratory infection. Everything above the waist hurts. Feel properly ill. Dh still sick with Covid after a fortnight. So grim. Both adult children gone off to visit friends for New Year so that is something. Still got loads of leftovers as we cooked a Turkey on Boxing Day. Thinking of living off Christmas pudding and Quality St for the next few days.

I had my last day at my job yesterday.

Earlier in the week I was told I had to spend the day in my office with my bullying manager, doing a handover. He denied saying anything nasty. And kept touching me on the hand, arm, rubbing my back, despite me repeatedly telling him not to touch me.

Now I'm jobless.

Oh no @Oblomov23 that’s horrible. Thinking of you

We had so many guests over Xmas that I’m knackered and have got a horrible cold. Feel worse than I have in years with a cold. Did a couple of covid tests due to older relatives but all negative. Does mean that I will miss the trek to MILs today though. DH now going on his own as older DS is also unwell and this DS has so much work to catch up on.

Another day in bed for me today.

Happy New Year all.
We had a quiet Christmas - 2 grannies for the day. I too went down with some sort of upper respiratory infection 2 days before Christmas zebra and felt pretty rough. Lost my voice and still coughing now.
DD has managed several shifts at her old museum job, and written 2 essays since being home -1 more to go. DS has loads of work to do......
We're not doing anything for NYE - I think ds is out, but DD has no plans yet.

@Oblomov23 - that's terrible. It makes me so cross people can get away with that kind of behaviour