As you read this I will be a veteran of the school gate. I will be able to leave my eldest without a backward glance and look forward to the rest of the day with my little boy until we pitch back up at the school gate at 3.15pm to wait for the final bell.

As I write, however, this seems a very long way off. My little girl started in Primary 1 this year and it left a tremendous hole in my routine! The run up to the ‘big day’ was full of activity making sure that uniform was purchased, pencils sharpened and name labels ironed in. We hadn’t concentrated too much on going to school because I didn’t want the whole holiday to be taken up with anticipation but in the last couple of weeks we discussed it a lot and what her new day might look like. She was used to attending nursery for full days so we thought she would handle the change quite well. Our teacher friends advised us that the single most important thing we could do was make sure that she was able to dress and undress unaided as this would ease gym time considerably so we spent a bit of time on that too.

Finally the much anticipated day arrived. Daddy decided not to come (this was a mistake, so try to persuade your partner to make the effort if you can!), so we set off in good time and in good spirits. We managed to make it without kicking the toes out of the shiny new shoes (although they didn’t last much longer!) and made our way in to meet the teacher. Everything was fine until she realised that I wasn’t staying when she appeared to attach herself to my leg and showed no sign of letting go. Teachers, however, have seen it all before and she instantly engaged her in something so that I could make my escape. I would be lying if I said my vision was clear as I left the room but I managed to hold it together until I got outside! In six hours, however, the transformation was complete. When we arrived to take her home she was a school girl through and through. Nursery days were a distant memory.

What a difference a day makes….