On this special day I want to thank all of you that read my ramblings, and wish you, your nearest and your dearest, a very Merry Christmas!
For me and the cubs, I’m grateful that our story continues. I buried the hatchet and invited the ex over to stay, giving her the opportunity to wake up with them and open presents.
She agreed.
Peace is restored. Or it will be when she leaves… 😉
Merry Christmas all xx
BSD
Tell cubs this;
When showing adults something, the object does not need to touch our retina.
BSD
I’ve been quiet. I’m sorry.
The rules have changed and I’m in the process of seeking legal help.
Whilst there’s no good time to do this, now is a really bad time.
It’s also necessary.
When I have the energy I’ll write about it as objectively as I can.
Whilst I’m emoted and have a taste of fire in my mouth, the keyboard stays silent.
Every day, find a reason to smile; counting your blessings is the best way.
BSD
It’s been a busy year so far. I’ve taken a lot on and although it feels good, I’ve become stuck.
Two things have struck me recently;
Firstly, it’s nearly Christmas. I’ve got to prepare and this year has flown.
Secondly, in 15 years, I’ll be 60. This thought was bought on by a tweet about Angela Bassett (60) at an award ceremony.
That’s just the way my mind works.
The first 8 years of my eldest cub’s life have shot by which brings my mind to the passage of time, and how I could be wasting it.
Or at least not making ‘enough’ progress.
That voice is back.
‘Surely I should be there now, rather than where I actually am, here’
The internal coach. Eternal critic.
This time, I have an answer. Where I am now, is exactly where I’m supposed to be.
It’s easy to listen to this critic who will make you forget just how far you’ve come, both personally and professionally.
I’m learning two new skills. They’re big skills that can’t be rushed, but at the grand age of 45, I’m restless. Both skills have ground to a halt; one financially, one technically.
Again, the critic inside thinks I should be further forward.
That is, until I look back 12 months and see that then me, and now me, are strangers. If now me had told then me where I’d be now, it would appear a tale of pure fallacy.
So I take a breath and a break, and relax.
I’m writing this on a windy hilltop, enjoying the sunset. And smiling.
Push
Angela Bassett looked amazing, by the way.
BSD
“Dad..?”
Yes?
“Do you like 1956?”
Eh?
“No; 1966?”
What?
“Hang on…”
She’s thinking…
“1996?”
Are these specific dated events? I’m not sure what you’re asking me…
“No! IT’S A SONG; BY KING”
Slowly dawning…
“No wait; Prince…”
You need to understand, this came minutes after her favourite song revelation,
BOPSIDY RAPS
By Queen.
Ok I’m back and hopefully so is my writing bug. Let’s see how this goes.
I like to teach the cubs life skills whenever I can and today was a big one; cooking breakfast.
She’s 8 next month and has shown the maturity to use kitchen knives responsibly in the past. It’s time to use the hob to make porridge.
Safety first
Sharps are one thing; flame another. She gets a thorough briefing.
Pride
She hits the ignition; her life changes for ever.
She turns to talk to me and reach for a bowl. I stop her; keeping her attention on the job. One thing at a time.
She counts aloud as the porridge thickens. Perfection; hob off.
I help with dishing out, as the pot is heavy. (Does the coagulation of a thixotropic material proportionately increase its mass? I’ll save that one for her graduation)
Finishing touches
She added the finishing touches to my bowl; honey, nuts, banana, blueberries, cinnamon, turmeric and ginger. Her bowl was less extravagant but she nailed it (apart from the turmeric but hey; curried porridge can be a thing…)
The look of satisfaction and pride on her face is immeasurable.
‘Best porridge ever daddy?’
Absolutely.
BSD
“Dad; do you want to smell my hand?”
Nope.
Ever had one of those days, when after checking your work ‘to do’ list, you immediately buy a lottery ticket?
#truestory
BSD
“Daddy; would you prefer a dog or an Osprey?”
………?
BSD
OK. I’ve calmed down. The last couple of posts were a mixture of anger and frustration, but I’m better than that.
In order to lighten the mood, I’ve amalgamated the 3 posts that have been sitting in draft.
Whole lotta 👅 going on
The usual Friday bedtime routine consists of me explaining to the cubs that they can’t sleep in my bed. Sometimes I mean it. This time I did.
They have a workaround. First thing on Saturday morning, they jump into bed with me and we have a cuddle and watch a movie. This time, I even let them consume a bag of popcorn in my bed.
Bad idea.
At a glance, I would say that their success rate for popcorn to mouth was roughly 50%. Give or take a 5% margin. Once the film finished I told them that I wanted all the uneaten bits cleaned up while I was in the shower.
Whilst brushing my teeth, I heard a commotion followed by silence. I resisted the urge to look.
When I did emerge, the bed was clean, the duvet turned down and they were nowhere to be seen. Nice work cubs.
That evening at bedtime, whilst reading Dig dig digging for the millionth time, I thanked them for tidying my bed.
“That’s ok dad; once we’d got the big bits we just licked the rest clean”
I sat silently, asking Jesus why he’d let something like that happen.
Getting my own back
Tonight’s routine was a little muted. They’re both under par so there was little resistance.
Tucking in the eldest, she remarked that she felt awful with the flu. Her temperature was elevated and she had a headache.
“Dad? How does flu spread?”
Well it’s a virus that is very clever once it gets in your system. It can hide, it can change, known as mutation and will act differently in different people.
“Yes but how does it get into your body?
This is where it gets really interesting; it’s so clever that it knows it prefers to be inside new people to survive so what it does is to make you cough and sneeze and it’s then carried in the thousands of water droplets that come out of us when we do. If you breathe those water droplets in the virus gets into you. It can also survive for 24 hours on hard surfaces like door handles. You’ll then come along and touch that door handle, then touch your face. The result is the same.
She silently takes it all in and begins to process it.
“So when we were in the car with you daddy, that’s when we got it?”
No. I kept licking your face while you slept.
“DADDY!!”
Sprint finish
” Dad; I think you need a new workout. I’ve made one for you”
Ok sounds good. What’ve you got?
“Well you start of with 25 star jumps..”
Ok; then?
“Then you move onto 25 press ups..”
Sounds good. Anything else?
“You should touch your toes 3 times..”
Sounds like a spell now but go on..
“Then finish with a small run; say 13 miles”
I’ll pass.
BSD
broke-single-dad 