They are well and truly coming apart at the seams after a game of football-in-school-trousers at, er, school.

He announces he can't wear them anymore and stands them expecting me to somehow conjure up another pair, preferably that moment, but definitely before the morn.

"You must have a spare pair," I say.

But he doesn't, of course, his spare trousers long gone down the washing black hole alongside hundreds of single socks and the like.

"Right," I say tersely, and find myself at Tesco under glary strip lightning hunting for a replacement pair in the minutes before they close.

I have my exasperated look and story ready in case I spot anyone I know and they think I browse supermarket clothes in the evening as some sort of jolly night out in lieu of a social life.

There are no suitable trousers, obviously, as anyone who has ever looked for school trousers in a shop will know that the size you are looking for is always, without fail, missing. So I move swiftly onto Sainsbury's.

But none here either, age 14 seemingly non-existent in trouser years.

I give up and go home, resigned to my fate - hunting for black thread in every single drawer in the house, finding every other colour along the way, then attempting, not being any kind of seamstress, to sew up trousers for the best part of an hour.

Son inspects my handiwork with what I detect as slight disdain, pulling the stitching apart to see if it will hold up when he plays another game of footie-with-school-trousers on.

"Cheers," he says eventually, with a half-smile. And that, I think, is a teenage seal of approval, and even appreciation, so happy days.



* When it comes to domestic chores, some are higher priority than others to prevent house becoming a health hazard.

And there are any number of high-priority jobs to crack on with at any one time, said chores being of a relentless nature.

Why is it then that husband chooses out of, say, vacuuming, unloading dishwasher, degunking toilet or cooker etc, to clean out the fish tank?

Is it just me?

sue.gilson@chiobserver.co.uk



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