There's something about
bubbles.
Think a sweet sip of
chilled champagne, the frothy foam in a steaming bath, the ubiquitous bottles
of bubbles that show up in every child's party bag or wedding reception. And at
least one chocolate company has marketed the fact that "it's the bubbles
of nothing that make it really something".
And who hasn't succumbed to
the pleasure of popping bubble wrap?
So you can appreciate the
temptation that presents itself when a child's shiny new school book also comes with a bonus little bubble.
If you've ever had the
parental pleasure of covering text books you'll know how hard it is to get the
plastic wrap off the backing and onto the front and back of the book without
crinkling, creasing, inadvertently sticking the stuff onto itself...or an air
bubble. It's kinda like tinting your own windows, on a smaller, not-so-dark
scale. And we all know how easily that little project can go pear-shaped.
So I cannot possibly tell
you what possessed me to stick my hand up when the school asked for help
covering a new batch of texts. Silly me thought maybe half a dozen books would
come home with the kids, but somehow forgot that the vast majority of students
at our school are orphans, apparently. The same few mothers (and some fathers I
must acknowledge) always end up doing the bulk of the work when parental help
is needed. My designated pile of books
wouldn't fit in the backpacks of both my kids combined. It took a couple of
trips to the car with the backside falling out of the flimsy plastic bags they
were packed in, before I could head home and get started on my latest volunteer
work.
While the kids wound down
from the pressures of learnin' (read: in front of television, snack in hand), I
set to work measuring, cutting, and cracking the backs of a small mountain of
materials designed to expand young minds. While my own went quietly crazy with
the task.
Anyway, only a few hours
after I started this insanity I sat back, exhausted, yet safe in the knowledge
that no less than 22 new text books are protected from the pending onslaught of
students.
And what do I see? About
halfway down the pile, a brand new book covered front and back with glossy
plastic coating.
And a damn bubble.
Now anyone who's ever sat
down with a child to do homework knows how little it takes to distract said
child from said homework. A sibling sitting too close. A catchy tune drifting
in on the breeze from a stereo somewhere. The smell of dinner cooking. A bright
shiny light. Now add the temptation of a little pocket of air and it's like
bubble wrap personified. Many hours will be wasted by flicking, clicking, chasing
it 'round the cover and trying to squeeze the air out. If we're lucky the
bubble will burst first go, and there'll just be a little flaw in the plastic.
So now I have three
choices. Try to tear the covering off and start again (but there's no guarantee
same thing won't happen again next time). Simply not return that book and tell
the school they miscounted (yeah right, 'cause they don't cover the 3 Rs at our
school). Or send it back and hope that it's not the one issued to my child. Maybe we'll get lucky and one of the alleged
orphans will get it instead, let their parents keep them on task. Think of it
as a small contribution to the school community.
I go with the last option,
and realise that even though I completed my own schooling some 20-odd years ago
now, I can still learn something. Next
time they ask for volunteers to cover the new books...I'll put my hand up for
canteen duty instead.
Jx
©2012
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