Damned kids

It's about 9.15 am on Saturday the 31st of July.

I have been up since about 8 am enjoying some "no bugger else about"-time. Just me, my laptop and the dogs (I fed them, ok!).

The kids are meant to be travelling to Surrey today to start their holiday to France, and although they were meant to have caught an early train, Gabriele's alarm has only just gone off and Christopher is still face down and dead to the world in his pit.

Let me start from the beginning on this one so that you all (or both of you) get the right idea and don't jump to conclusions that make me look like a bad guy.

Firstly, Gabriele is 19 and Christopher is 18.  Both think they are old enough to make their own minds up, say and do what they like and come and go when they please. Both of them make a point of being dead on time when they go and see their father (I'm a step-daddy for my sins) but are always an hour or two late or don't show up at all if they are meeting, or doing anything for, us (me and their mum).

Months ago, through one or two mumbled conversations with Christopher (he mumbled, we spoke and eventually shouted because we just couldn't understand him) we discovered that both he and his sister would probably be going to France with their Aunty Disease .... sorry, Louise,  and family.  Over a period of ... ooooooooh ... three months or so, it became a certainty that they would be going to France.

Gabriele, who had done everything she could think of NOT to find a summer job, eventually found one, which was just as well because she'd spent everything on her bank account (and a bit more) on her mobile phone and going out with her friends.

Christopher had been working off and on for his father and had been paid a vastly over the odds salary for his services.  He had also been given a car by his father (to which his father holds all the documents, etc..) putting Christopher into a position whereby saying "No" was no longer an option.  Anyway, my point is he had money, but he was spending it like water and could never remember what he he'd spent it on (so he said).  £35 was spent in Ikea using his debit card but he has no idea what on!
He has just come back from marching in Holland and plans to go to Italy for adventure training when he returns from France. It's all go in his life and he is almost as broke as his sister!

Ok.  With me so far?

On Thursday Gabriele went out (still unpacked for holidays at this time) to a friend's house and although she was asked to return by 11pm, crawled in nearer to 1 am.  Strangely enough on Friday she was too ill to go to work and stayed in bed all day.  Christopher stayed home and packed for France after saying he was going to work for his father.

By 10 pm on Friday Christopher was packed and Gabriele was just starting.  By 10.30  pm Christopher was watching T.V. in his room and Gabriele was on her way out to see a friend.  God knows when she came in again.

They both wanted to be in Farnham, Surrey by midday today so we told both of them to set their alarms and to make sure they get up in the morning.

Did I already say Christopher is still face down in his pit?  It's now 10 am.

As for Gabriele, her alarm did go off at 9.15 am, but it was immediately switched off. She has creaky floorboards in her room and so far there hasn't been a single creak heard .

Why haven't I woken them up?  Because dear reader(s)  ... in a heated debate about money, in which their mum and I tried to convince them not to live outside their means, we were very forcefully informed that they want to "learn by their own mistakes".

So ... good luck to the little buggers!