Day 314
Thursday 10 May 2018 10.48pm
‘Researching Tati and Reed’ 2018
Spent this morning writing about, and the afternoon researching, The Third Man (1949) and Playtime (1967). At 3.05pm I had to pick the girls up from school and everything in my life went pear-shaped from that time onwards. I’d organised for them to each choose a movie to watch while I went and watched one of my Top 100 Films in another room. Charlotte couldn’t accept the arrangement and she wanted to watch her film in my studio while I’d already agreed to allow Becky to sit in the studio and watch her movie. I started getting angry at them and told them I would stop everything if they didn’t stop making this room-thing an issue. They each had chosen a favourite movie to watch but in my studio was also the big bear, Albert. It’s as big as Becky.
Becky, and she’s five, then suddenly did became the bigger person and agreed to swap rooms and let Charlotte watch her movie in my studio. Charlotte couldn’t let it go at that. She started yelling and whingeing that she wanted the bear as well which Becky was hugging. I lost it and yelled at them and banned them both from watching any movies or any television this afternoon. We all ended up in tears and then decided colouring-in was a way of calming down. Mummy came home early and I had some straight bourbons to calm myself. Not a happy family for anyone. Truth be told, Becky did nothing wrong and Charlotte was the one behaving like the spoiled brat, throwing tantrums. This would be the time when both of my girls have seen me at my angriest so far in their short lives.
Ali and I watched some television and we both decided to have an early night – pre-11pm. That happens once every couple of years: very rare.