I’m loving student life ... which could be a problem

Lucy Penman

Some interesting observations on what to expect when your children have left home follow. These are a result of first-hand experience gained over the last couple of weeks since the student started uni: ● You no longer have to worry about providing nutritional meals. It is quite acceptable to serve up a fish finger sandwich and some on-the-turn fruit for supper. You are no longer concerned with ruining your offspring’s future career prospects by not providing “brain foods” for exam success. You will also find you have considerable Nutella-shaped spaces in your kitchen cupboards.

● You can wait until the last toilet roll before bothering to buy more.

● You can now accept offers for after-work drinks with reckless abandon. There is no more rushing back for ferrying to after-school activities or homework to supervise. This may come as such a lovely surprise that you find yourself behaving in a rather unbecoming fashion on a school night more than a couple of times a week.

● The only thing stopping you doing this every night is that money is tight, what with having a child at uni…

● Setting a good example no longer applies so if you want to leave your clothes in a heap on the floor after a night out, you can. Ditto playing loud music at a late hour. An added bonus here is that no one is judging your music choices. Mr P’s Springsteen obsession can be fully indulged.

● Your TV binge-watching is going unchecked, meaning you can do up to four episodes in a single sitting.

Hmm. Having reviewed these observations, I have realised Mr P and myself have, in fact, embraced student life now that we have Penman Towers to ourselves. It is a worrying turn of events. I wonder what my mother would say if I turned up on her doorstep soon with my washing in a giant bag? Might be worth a try. Thankfully, the student will be home for the weekend soon and will hopefully set us back on the straight and narrow.

“Your TV binge watching is going unchecked...