Amazing kids

So far I'm just on time keeping one of my resolutions: to write a post to this blog once every month. This means I have fewer events on which to draw, and less need to telescope time, allowing me the scope to reflect appreciatively on those things I encounter as I hurtle through life.

One such encounter was the shocking realisation that not only have all my children grown up, but that they have turned into the nicest adults one could wish to meet. I can't quite recall a single time when the tables turned, but this year, without question, it was them who did the work, and me who was looked after and entertained. Epiphany fell on a working day, so the plan was for all to gather while I was still sweating over a hot whiteboard. Five kids, a wife and a girlfriend were all in residence when I arrived home at 4 to find the roast in the oven, veg preparation in hand and under control in the kitchen, and chilled cava in a glass waiting for me.

I lifted not a finger, nor ruffled a single hair. The meal produced itself effortlessly under the expert skills and genial co-operation of various sons, and all was cleared and fed

into the dishwasher over the next couple of days by daughter - who also hoovered and wiped up the kitchen so that the house ended up cleaner and tidier after they had all left than it was when they arrived. We all had time for a leisurely drink in the Ellie before dinner, and it never got to my round.

Daughter-in-law and son's girlfriend have endless patience with the weird family rituals and remind me that a family is always a growing, changing entity. The meal was perfect, the family time together merry, and there wasn't a moment of stress in the entire event.

If having remarkable offspring is pleasing, watching one's pupils doing remarkable things is another kind of pleasure. In a moment of insanity earlier in the year, I decided that the third form could usefully dabble in my PhD field of theology and the internet. I slightly overestimated their familiarity with the technology, so it has been a steep learning curve, but here we are, three weeks into term, and each set has a page on their own website, a growing blog, and the faintest stirrings of a Twitter feed. There is so much hard work going into writing content and getting the hang of different kinds of online presence. What has surprised me most is the thoughtful creativity of students whose output is usually written answers to academic questions. Do have a look at the blogs of 3-1, 3-2, 3-3 and 3-4 to see what I mean.

By the time I get round to writing the next post, I expect there to be another amazing kid in the family: more about that after the event. Watch this space.