Mum’s chauffeur.

 

Tuesday 14th October 2025

I was looking forward to doing some more ploughing today, but that all changed over breakfast.

Yesterday evening, Mum was getting into a bit of a panic about her friend Jane. They were due to meet up for the day today, only Mum had completely forgotten until Jane reminded her in a message last night. The reason for the panic came from the destination — somewhere over Pontefract way, just off the M62 motorway. Mum’s fine driving when it’s somewhere familiar, but she soon gets flustered if it’s a route she doesn’t know.

Anyway, things only got worse over breakfast, with Mum fretting on about “what if this” and “what if that,” and wondering where Junction 62 was, and whether she’d even know where she was when she got there. I think it all became too much for Dad, because he suddenly, and rather sharply, said,

“Look, Jan, just use your phone like any normal person does.”

My eyes met with Eric’s, and I knew we were both thinking the same thing. The thought came instantly — I needed to step in. The last thing I wanted was to have to choose which one to live with if they ended up getting a divorce!

“If it’s okay, I don’t mind swapping my day off to take you,” I said. “I can make up the time on Saturday if that’s alright with everyone.”

“Katie, you don’t have days off or days on around here. You do as you please and see fit, dear. I’ve more than enough faith in you to prioritise your life properly,” said Dad.

That was nice of him — and I could tell it was a great weight off Mum’s mind too. Dad went on to say there was no rush for the ploughing to be done anyway. He just knew how much I enjoyed being out on the tractor and wanted to make sure I wasn’t missing out.

So today, I’ve been Mum’s chauffeur. We met Jane for lunch, then went back to her house for dinner. Because it was after dinner when we got home, we brought Dad fish and chips — we knew he’d be starving by then. I made sure to go into the chip shop to place the order myself, just so I could ask for an extra-large portion. I knew he’d need a little help with one that size!