Day 38 - Does What It Says On The Tin

"What's for breakfast, Mum?" Marcus asked, not taking his eyes off the COD carnage on the screen in front of him.
     "Toast."
     "Anything else?" asked Molly, hopefully.
     "Hang on.  I think there might be some Rice Crispies left in the bottom of the cupboard."
     "Oh my God! This is rubbish!  There's nothing to eat in this house! Callum's having croissants and fresh fruit salad AS WE SPEAK!" Cleo ranted, before stomping back up to her room.  Was it just me, or was she being extra spawn-of-Satan at the moment? I needed to keep an eye on that. There'd been a hell of a lot in the media recently about teenage mental health during Lockdown.
     I wasn't feeling very confident about my own mental health today, in all honesty. How nice it might be for someone to keep an eye out for a deterioration in my morale. Some hope!  For a start, I was going to have to ration the coffee. I needed free-flowing coffee.  I felt like it was one of my human rights. I also faced the prospect of another day sparring with John. He was bound to ask me about the money that I'd lent my sister and I couldn't face being coerced into having a full-on conversation about money with her right now.
     "What do you know? There's still a rogue Pop Tart knocking about in here," I found myself muttering, as I dredged the floor of the cupboard. Don't look at the date on it, Daisy.  Don't look at the date!  Once I had that information, I was knowingly entering into a risky activity.
     I broached the subject of her wellbeing when I took Cleo some toast and marmalade. "You seem really off today, love.  Is everything ok?"
     "Fine," was the abrupt answer.
     "Talk to me, Cleo," I said, edging closer. "Is it Callum? Are you missing him badly?"
     "Mum!" she snapped.
     "Ok.  Time of the month then?  You're always a bit of a bitch when you get your period."
     "Get out!" she yelled.
     How was I supposed to know from the angle that she was holding her phone, that she was talking to him on facetime?

     A few of the reasons why this was one of the most miserable days of Lockdown for me so far:

•  The soundtrack to my day went something like this ....... "Mum ........ MUUUUUUM ...…MUUUUUUUUUUM ........ For Christ's sake Daisy ............ Mum  .......... Daisy .......... Mum .....................…Daisy ............. DAISY ............ MUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUM!
• As already stated, the coffee situation was intolerable and quite frankly an infringement of my human rights.  By midday, I'd only had two cups so my blood/caffeine levels were dangerously low.
•  Even though no one apart from John has actually been anywhere in the last couple of days, there were two loads of laundry in the basket AGAIN.
•  Lunch was Hins tinned soup and sliced white bread with margarine.
•  Dinner was a Franz Brentis pie from a tin with tinned peas.
•  We had only three squares of sub-standard chocolate each with our post-dinner cups of tea.
•  When we went out to 'do the clap' as the twins referred to it, it was absolutely pouring with rain and Grumpy Aging Biker was still smirking and giving us funny looks.
•  Oh and one more thing - there's no fucking wine!!!

When I'm allowed back to the supermarket again,  I think that I'll take up daytime drinking. I've been trying to keep it together for a family who don't deserve my commitment and the way things are going, I don't think anyone would give a shit or even fucking-well notice if I was hammered before Lorraine had finished!  Everyone needs goals to work towards after all.