Almost Finished.

School holidays are almost finished here in Australia and that means a lot of people are hoping that the first day back is dryer than it has been in the last few weeks.  Honestly, it's been so wet and weird lately that the kids around that place haven't had a chance to stretch their legs outside and have fun!  Instead, they're watching the days go by and rain tumble from the grey clouds; washing their fun plans away with the dirt and grime they're so used to getting into.

This also means the parents are fed up with having them around their feet too.  They have to either go to work and come home to them saying that there was nothing to do.  So, when they get back to school, it'll feel like they've never really been on holidays.

For me, I've been stuck inside too.  Normally, I get myself outside and into the sun in Spring and read a few books before the rush'n'hurry of Christmas comes along.  It may sound like an early start to things for some, but really, I have to begin now to give my family a good Christmas.  I began looking around for Christmas pressies about a month ago and began asking them what they wanted about a week ago.  They don't find it all that strange now, but they used to.

I know what I'm getting my niece... she'll love it.  I just have find something cool for the rest of the family.  Dad's normally the hardest to buy for, though.  Just what do you get for somebody who's got everything?

But really, I'm looking forward to when all the kids go back to school.  While I was out shopping today, I don't think I've ever apologised so much to kids in all my life.  I bumped into so many who were out with their folks shopping.  They were either waiting for them or trying to help with the shopping (and just getting in the way) or they were taking off from their folks when they saw something in another shop they wanted to look at; leaving their parents struggling with the shopping trolley or bags of groceries walking in the opposite direction toward the carpark calling out: "Leaving now!  I'm not going to wait for you!" and grumbling under their breath, "God kill me now; or send them back to school."

Actually, on the way to do my shopping, I was on the bus and there was a kid who ran up to the bus as it was driving away and he grabbed at the second lot of doors.  They automatically opened while the bus was still in motion; which caused the bus driver to stop the bus, get off the tell the kid off.  One of the passengers said that the kid was heading towards being a delinquent; and/or prison.  She said that he was around 9 years old and he didn't go to school and just went around vandalising everything; thinking he could get away with it.  This included cars on sales lots.  The police can't do anything about him and his parents don't care.  It's such a shame when a child like this falls between the cracks; and yet nobody does anything about him.  Well, all we can do is wait until he's 16 and then he'll get a taste of what happens in Juvenile Detention Centres.  If that doesn't work, jail might.

I think a lot of the kids are looking forward to going back to school; despite having to get up early again and getting back into the books.  It's the sheer boredom that these school holidays have brought that have had kids on edge for the last two weeks.  It doesn't matter how many times they were taken to the movies or to indoor go-kart tracks, parents do run out of things to do for them.  So, bring on school!  

I never thought I'd say that... even now.