A mum and daughter brekkie was needed

This has been a hard working week for all of us. We are all trying to keep the enthusiasm going while waiting for those moving dates to come through. So close and yet so far. Charlotte’s issue is still there. She has been attending school without skipping now for two consecutive weeks. I cannot but praise her for the effort. I can tell how much she’s suffering, although I don’t quite know why.

She has deep self-esteem and self confidence issues. She cries every single school day because she hates it. I am unsure if this is a result of her social circle. I know she likes the learning side of it, but maybe as a result of the first, this is affecting her and she has been feeling really exhausted. She takes a nap when she gets back from school, lately has been going to bed on time but really struggles to get up in the morning. I feel like there's maybe a little bit of avoidance there…

This is obviously dragging the rest of the family life down, we're all feeling drained of this ongoing problem - going on for over a year now - as it just doesn't seem to go away. We get a really hard time trying to make her understand that as a teenager certain feelings are normal but that she needs to build her resilience to life. It's hard for us because we are "old school" and there is a whole new array of problems that we are not very familiar with so not too sure what would be the best approach. And when we try, it seems to be wrong.

We normally have this “girls’ Sunday brekkie” once a month. This Sunday, I wanted to recognise this effort by taking her to a tea room for a cuppa coffee, like two British grownup ladies. We had a good walk in one lovely traditional British town, and did our Charity shopping round. It was an amazingly bright and nippy sunny day. Love walking on days like this, especially in the company of one of my mini-me. Ended up at Nando’s, of course. Where else? After this weekend’s meals, I might not need to eat for a couple of days…

For once, we had a good day, enjoyed each other’s company, Noughties music and, most importantly, didn’t argue. Tbh this time around I decided not to ask any questions, I just wanted one peaceful time with my daughter. Girls only time. So, to honour that, we ended up going for a little make-up shopping spree, for her of course, because I don’t wear much these days… - not that I ever have.