Exam-anxiety

The time reads 2.50 p.m.
HOORAY! The exam is officially over!

Today Xuan sat for her last paper - Mathematics.
She must be very happy by now.
I can imagine the exhilaration and happiness showing on her face NOW.
Yes, right now.
YEAH...! It's over!

*Erhem* If she was happy, I would be 20 times happier!
For the past week, and especially the day before each of her exam paper, I had read through, ingested and digested all her school textbooks, workbooks, worksheets, test papers... to help her with her revision. I highlighted all her mistakes to her, without her going through her entire stack of school work. I WAS the one revising!
[I can see your head shaking vigorously now. Don't judge.]

Occasionally, I would be questioned by the "invigilator" who did a surprise check and slapped a question like "How come she didn't know her punctuations, I thought you already went through with her?" in my face.

When she was in school for her examination. I watched the clock.
When the clock read 1.20 p.m., I told myself, "exam starts.."
When it ticked 2.50 p.m., I heaved a sigh of relief, "one down.."

Well, this was the first time she sat for her exams - REAL examinations - not those bite-sized assessments or short tests.
It was also my VERY FIRST EXAM after my last departure from school, when I had long forgotten what it tasted like to be EXAMINED. All of a sudden, scent of the burning mid-night oil came gushing back to me. And those mountain-high stack of lecture notes. Oh, oh... how could I forget that it almost cost me my sanity, when I forgot momentarily how to write or even spell for that matter - my.very.own.NAME, on the exam paper! That moment was really scary.
So you can't exactly blame me for my anxiety this time, can you?

Anyway, I am so thrilled that it was all over.
But I can't get over the fact that I have to sit through this sh*t exam-anxiety for the rest of her academic years.
Err... by the way, did I tell you that she is only in Primary TWO???




P.S.: Actually, Xuan has been doing consistently well in her studies this year. That was why I did not attempt to drown her with the entire year's school work for revision. During her examination period, she could even afford the same amount of play. No less. She was very disciplined. She needed minimal supervision. I could not even hold a candle to one-twelfth of her willpower at her age.

We are going to celebrate today.

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