Claire and Sons Limited

There’s nothing like a little crisis to get the adrenalin flowing and reminding you not to get complacent. Indeed, these tribulations that come along and test me and make sure I'm keeping my end of the (parent) bargain, that is to provide food and shelter to my off spring. It’s sometimes pretty hard going doing just that.

I'm in receipt of tax credits and due to the way that they awarded, means that as of the new tax year I will not receive quite so much – now working full time means that I earn more of my own cash. Great, and I wouldn’t have it any other way cos, as those nearest to me know, I am quite proud and fiercely independent. However, if tax credits are there with my name on them I’ll take them, thanks, but the trouble is when I go from working part time to full time and the difference in the amount of tax credit I will receive is, well let’s just say it’s more than my mortgage and insurances put together. Hmmm, quite a drop in one fell swoop and quite a shock which has my mind turning as to how I am going to provide the rudimentary, as per the bargain. (Doesn’t help that yesterday I had to shell out 3 day’s pay to get my drain unblocked…) Anyway, my point is that at times like this, when it’s all brain cells to the problem, frantically figuring out how I'm actually going to cope, that I remind myself that I'm very lucky because I have two options, that is I either sink or I swim. And, as my dad will testify, I am a strong swimmer, and MM says that I'm the best swimmer he knows (yes, yes, I know you were talking about the physical act of swimming but please allow me some analytical license).

I own my house and run it like a business, not that I have any formal training, but it has been the only way that I can function since day one. And so I know that my friends snigger at me for keeping all of my receipts and logging what I have spent but to me it’s just simple book-keeping. I have records of every single penny that has come in, and gone out, of this house for the last seven years, quite literally. This way I produce plans and projections, I kid you not, so that I know how much I have to spend, or otherwise, on x, y and z. I don’t borrow money and I pay for everything in cash. I get paid, I pay the bills and any profit I make goes into savings and pays for holidays and Christmas. I'm sad, I know, but it’s this system of being regimented about logging everything that gives me some stability during harsher times. There’s no guessing, no overspending and I know exactly what I'm working with. And so I hope that I’ll sleep better tonight, having been reminded about what I have etched on my wrist, and that is ‘autonomy’; that I am independent and have the freedom to deal with the tribulations however I wish to and, as I say, I don’t do sinking.

Have got to end here to go and investigate a really strange noise coming from upstairs, Luke's room I think….I cannot believe my ears, honestly, I think I can hear the Dyson being used up there, no, it can’t be, I'm not up there, I'm here on the sofa…but it is, it really sounds like a vacuum cleaner being pushed over carpet and yet I haven’t asked/told anyone to do it, it appears that the Dyson went up the stairs and is working of its own accord. I shall investigate and will let you know.