Can you blame me? The last 48 hours have been testing, what with the mother of all triplet fights, having my trousers removed to make bats, and at 3am this morning, walking into a closed door, face first.
On that one, I can only blame myself - failing to replace the hall lightbulb for how many nights? It doesn't make my swollen hooter any easier to bear.
If only today could dawn kinder!
Of course it does not. For a start, we have tropical depression Banyan. Rain. More rain. Ocean of rain, thrashing at the windows through the night, fraying my sleep. Now even the weather is ganging up on me.
By grey morning we suffer all the worst of combinations. Hot steaming air mixed with persistent torrential rain. You can't move without your clothes soaking through from outside and in. Every step is a trial and a toil. We know that a home ed park meeting is sure to be cancelled. Sure enough. Today is another day indoors.
And it's not going to get any better. We live on an island with warm soil and steamy undergrowth. After the rain come the insects.
I already catch myself, slapping my own arm, fearing I have that psychological complaint where you think your skin is crawling with ants. But when I look down, I find that my skin is crawling with ants.
Next will come the mosquitoes. They're hatching now, those blood-sucking pests. They'll find every route they can to get under our thin shells.
And that reminds me. Another reason for the pessimism. This week is another deadline. Property developers have their beady eyes on this outlying island. But Lamma is a nesting site for the endangered Green Turtle.
Round here, the property developers usually win in the end. Laws prefer them, government runs its business through them, and all parts of a winning development team are headed by an extended family network, so the money exchanges safely betwixt government contacts and family dynasties. What's the fuss about a few old turtles? Anyway, by all accounts, they're tasty. Another deadline for complaints is tomorrow.
But I have to stay positive, right? And so many things are right. I'll be back to normal tomorrow, if I think of them; count those blessings one, two, three.
The approach I'm taking to the education seems to be working, for now. One month in and we haven't yet thrown up our hands on the IGCSE Geography. The reading continues, non-stop. The tummies are full. Thank you comes easily, and I still have three night-time kisses to give. As the days unfold, we take time too, to do in childhood what nature planned.
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