Heading out instead of studying

I should be getting ready to go to an Open University tutorial this morning, but I’m giving it a miss as Alex and Ross are running later in the Buchlyvie 10k. I’m feeling a wee bit guilty as I often cite one of the down-sides of distance learning as the fact that there is little, or no, contact with other students or your tutor and the tutorials are an ideal way of improving that. However, today I would simply rather be out in the April sunshine (fingers crossed!) supporting my boys in their race than be stuck in a tutorial room at Stirling University.

The tutorials aren’t compulsory, so I won’t be losing any marks, but they are useful for a bit of extra support. I suppose it comes down to a matter of choice and priorities; although the courses and extra ‘stuff’ that I’m doing at the moment are really important to me, my family and all their bits and bobs still come first. That’s not to say, however, that there won’t be times I’ll have to forego something family-related when the choice isn’t so straightforward; if attendance at the tutorial today had been a compulsory element of the course, I would definitely have been going along! Also, the next module of my other course is going to be on every Tuesday morning and starts right slap bang in the middle of Gordon’s standard grades; I felt really guilty when I told him I wouldn’t be able to drive him to school any Tuesday morning that he had an exam. Our kids get the bus to school, but I’ve always driven them in on the days of important exams. That won’t be the case for Gordon’s four Tuesday standard grades.

Gordon’s reply, when I was apologising and telling him how guilty I felt that I wouldn’t be there for that last bit of moral support on the way in to school in the car was, “Don’t be so ridiculous Mum, I’m not the least bit bothered, you don’t need to give me a lift!” (not sure if he meant in the car, psychologically or both!). “I’ll get the bus or a lift from someone else in the village”. Gordon’s response really brought it home to me that we mums often feel guilty about not ‘helping’ our kids when they don’t actually expect or need that help. Gordon simply didn’t see it as a big deal – whereas I felt as if I was letting him down.

Now that I come to think of it, I’m probably letting him down much more by not going to the tutorial today. I’ve been harping on to Gordon about how important it is to prioritise studying over this next wee while if he wants to do well in his exams (to little or no avail I might add!). Not setting a very good example, am I?!! Ah well, too late now – sunshine, running and, hopefully, cakes in Buchlyvie beckon!

Anyway (she says defensively), I'm sure that Gordon seeing me studying while he's off school over the next fortnight will be good example enough and hopefully encourage him to open his books too....which just goes to highlight another thing that us Mums are often guilty of; big dollops of wishful thinking!