No Milk Today..

‘’There’s no milk’’ were the first words I heard this morning. It was not so much a statement , more a request for me to jump into the car and go to the shop and buy some....urgently. Two milk-less bowls of weetabix sat dryly on the table in the kitchen. Another bowl , this one containing a combination of all the available cereals in the house was covered carefully by a clean tea-towel- it’s owner afraid one of his siblings would touch it and contaminate it with some grotesque bugs, thus rendering it totally inedible . In less than 15 minutes, I returned from the shop with the anxiously awaited milk- which was immediately ‘set upon’ and consumed. Lest anyone think this reflects upon my household management skills or lack therof -think holidays- think friends- think midnight hot chocolates – and serial cereal munchers. Do I explain myself adequately? This –not altogether unusual – incident cast my mind back to Summer of ’88 . My eldest son was then 6 years of age and I was expecting bouncer no.6. It was one of those hot sticky humid Summer days and I felt anything but energetic. Anyway, during the afternoon ,my four eldest played happily in the garden while the youngest slept soundly . A great chance to have a nice cup of tea.......or so I thought. Having made the tea, I went to the fridge to get some milk...........nothing ........gone ........no milk..........Despair is the only word I can use to describe how I felt. Here I was, baby sleeping – not going to wake her –eldest too young by far to leave with her while I made the short trip to the shop – it was either stay or take them all. While pondering my dilemma ,my husband, clearly inspired from on high- rang to say he was dropping by to collect something and ‘’did I need anything?’’..................................did I need anything?.............yes yes .....please, milk ,I need milk . Oh Thank God. Husband delivered 4 litres of milk promptly and took his leave equally promptly. Ahh bliss, kettle on, mug ready , phone ringing –better answer- make it quick- too polite to rush caller , so engage in 5 minute conversation – really looking forward to that tea now. Outside the happy sounds of children playing ......playing at being cows ....MOO MOO.. and the occasional clang of a metal bucket. A thought crossed my mind , the only metal bucket I had was a coal bucket ....oh dear they’ll be filthy. The call came to an end and I headed off to the kitchen once more .....tea at last..... But no, it was not to be.............the farmer ie eldest son was milking his cows ie 3 younger siblings , he had collected a fine big dirty bucket of milk.......in a coal bucket ...about 4 litres including spillages..... Who needs tea anyway???