Was intending to do strength training this morning, because my afternoon was blocked to bring the boys to a play date with their school friends. But I woke up this morning feeling slightly tired / lacking sufficient sleep, and stressed about all the work I had to complete in the morning that I hadn’t gotten to over the weekend, and decided it would be just too much / too stressful to rush to the gym and back for my work meeting. In the event, it was the right call I think.

I brought the boys for a play date with their school friends in the afternoon. In many ways, this is a particularly ‘suitable’ set of friends, because this family has three children, the older two of which are boys who are the same ages / year groups as O and F, their parents and boys are quite geeky, and their dad is Breton, like AJ. We had been asked over to their place for a play date for the first time several years ago, when O had apparently been picking on the older son, at the request of a girl (O’s then “girlfriend”).

The family has recently moved, and their new home is huge and gorgeous… high ceilings, beautifully done, with modern and nifty amenities like a single tap which dispenses water (still and carbonated) at multiple temperatures (ambient, cold, boiling). She had a nanny, and a cleaner, and workers around touching up minor cracks, and hanging wall art at exactly 128cm above the floor; while I felt slightly awkward at my workman-like paint splattered hand, which I didn’t bother entirely washing away. For a moment, I felt a pang at the contrast between her beautiful home and my Work-in-Progress ‘Hackney loft’-vibe flat, and briefly thought, “Gosh, did she marry well!”, which is entirely unfair.

She was an M&A banker herself, and made it to the head of her industry group, before she quit and became a tai tai after 3 kids. So big kudos to her. I always respect a woman who has worked a proper job. And she was proper hard core to make MD and head of her group, in a US investment bank, no less. But she’s now decorating the house and buying art, while her husband is having sleepless nights over bond market movements.

She still seems fairly down to earth, and I can relate because we both worked in banking before, we’re all bit geeky (parents and kids), and she has a bit of awkwardness sometimes. Philosophically I’m aligned with what I know of her parenting style, she’s kind, and tries to be inclusive and sensitive about the situation between AJ and I. And at least she didn’t ask me if I attended the school’s charity gala, like another mum – an MD at a big investment firm – did. Too funny.

I did some work calls from her place, and spent some time chatting with her. At some point I asked her if she or her husband has talked to her older son about sex, a topic which I haven’t broached with O, and neither has AJ, to my knowledge. I said my working assumption was that AJ would cover the topic with O at some point, given they are both boys. She mentioned that her older son S actually feels more comfortable talking to her about it, probably because she’s more open, and so she has discussed the topic with him. I wondered aloud if it was necessary because when I was 12, a year older than O is now, I still didn’t know about sex, albeit I was in Asia and a girl (probably more sheltered), and the boys my age probably knew about sex? I said that at that stage I only knew that if a boy and girl slept in the same bed, and liked each other, sometimes they would get pregnant. But I didn’t know how or why. She looked like I had spouted two heads – genuinely shocked that I was so ignorant at that age. 

But on the way back, I asked O if he knows about sex – what it is, and if he is curious about it. He didn’t seem to know what it is, and didn’t seem curious. I just emphasised to him that he can ask his Papa or myself if he is curious about anything at all, about boys or girls, because puberty can be a confusing. We would be happy to be explain anything that he has questions about.

I went for the Foundation Track session with my run club, where I did decent-ish times, even though I didn’t feel great, and felt it in my back. We watched “Astérix & Obelix The Middle Kingdom” in the evening, and I forced more turmeric and ginger tea down my throat.

Let’s see if I’m up for gym tomorrow. I’m not usually a fan of Tuesdays because it’s cardio, which I don’t particularly enjoy. But maybe I would benefit from some machines work outs at this stage.