As we whizz along the narrow lanes in my friend Lizzie’s little Mini, Lake Windermere peeking through the trees, it feels as though we have known each other for years. Yet, Lizzie is actually a relatively new friend. We met in the playground two years ago when our daughters started at their current school, in Year 5.The kids became firm friends from day one and Lizzie and I bonded over the fact we also felt rather like new girls. As our daughters’ friendship grew, so did ours, especially when we realised we both also had two sons, who were the same ages (14 and 17).
Lizzie, a primary schoolteacher, is much more organised than me, and alongside planning our daughters’ joint birthday party almost single-handedly, she has helped me out numerous times, from providing me with a giant canvas for a science project to reminding me to book parent’s evening slots.
Shorts
When I moved to the Cotswolds, close to where I grew up, about 15 years ago I reconnected with a number of old friends who have children, but I didn’t really make many close friends at the school gates. I didn’t have a very positive experience at primary school with my middle child, who is autistic and was put on a reduced timetable. I felt, at times, quite judged for his meltdowns and tended to avoid the school mums where possible. It’s one of the reasons I moved our daughter to another school and why I was glad to have met Lizzie. She has become one of my first proper “mum friend“.
