Need a Gripe

So today hasn't been that great so far.   I'm shattered and it's only 4 o'clock.

No particular reason, you understand, just today I found my tether was well and truly stretched.
It started out OK. Went into work, as I do every day, with a plan of action. I cleared my inbox of the immediately pressing and then settled down to work on an on-going (and going and going and going) project.  It was alright.

Then after a quick break for lunch everything went rapidly downhill.  My bosses boss questioned something I was doing and I spent an hour taking him through some complex rationale for decisions taken 6 weeks ago, racking my brain to recall previous conversations through the stress induced slight fug that seems to affect me occasionally and possibly cyclically.  Got back to my desk where my phone rang continuously. I alternated between answering it and helping an apparently endless queue of people who seemed to appear at my desk one after another and loom imperiously over it until I had responded to their query.  

I heard my nemesis colleague over the way speaking on the phone.  "Oh you need to talk to Ariel, thing is, I'm not sure what time she's leaving, she usually leaves early.  Ariel what time are you leaving today?"

I replied fairly shortly "the usual".

I didn't add, that this is my contracted time, that I have no option but to leave to leg it to school to start shift number two, nor that I am actually on a part-time salary, a fact conveniently forgotten by my department (except of course on pay-day).  The trials and tribulations of a working mum.

Arrived at school in a sort of daze.  Saw my son come out of his classroom and felt the usual warm glow at seeing his little face.   He gave me a quick hug and then disappeared among the throng.  I tried to field the various mummy conversations around me whilst desperately searching him out and eventually located him.

Walking home we have the following conversation.

 "I want to marry Sarah, but she says she doesn't want to marry me" (feigns weeping).

  "Oh dear, why not?"

 "She wants to marry Chloe, but anyway she can't because girls can't marry girls can they mummy?"

I pause, I have no option but to contradict him in this day and age, but still wearily know that this will lead to more questioning.

"Well they can if they want to."

"So I can marry Robert? Hurray I'm going to marry Robert!"

"Well"  I say, "usually your friends stay your friends, but you marry the person you fall in love with.  I thought you were going to marry Trudy....."

Walk on, thinking "please change the subject".

Happily, up ahead are the speed bumps in the road and beyond this the haven that is the sweet shop.

"Ooh look, the sweet shop" I say.  "Can we go over the bumps?" "Yes of course"  "Hooray!"

Hooray indeed!