Home

Home.
Not sure why it is but I find myself smiling when I think about it.
And it's not just my own small living space, but the surrounding area.
I was driving back from a long afternoon of dancing on the river, followed by more dancing in a pub, completely exhausted with little patience for idiot 'Sunday' drivers, when I turned right onto Roseberry Ave and found myself smiling.
I had grown up going to Sadler's Wells, the old theatre, not this glass monstrosity that they have now replaced it with and it sort of felt like a signal. A sign that I was in home territory.
Not long now and I'd be wending my way past my old road, the road where I lived for 30 years. Do people still do that? Live somewhere for that length of time? It seems that everyone wants bigger and better, more space inside, more space outside. Are we never content with just enough? Is the grass always going to be greener on the other side of the fence?
That is a question that I am at this point in time, happy to answer with a no. I am content with where I live. It is my home. My humble abode. I share it happily (most of the time) with my child. We as a family unit, have grown and developed here. But further down the line, later on, perhaps in a few years, I would like to have a slightly bigger home, with a garden.
I can aspire to more. For what are we if we can't have our dreams? Our hopes? Our goals?
It is healthy to be able to achieve and to reach an actual peak in the daily mountains that we climb.
So yes, I am happy and I do smile when I near my own little part of the world. It is the comfort of the known, the normal, the routine that makes everyday life, at least for me, the life that I am happy to be leading.

Sex....

and the City 2.
Why what were you thinking?
Actually it was my man's suggestion to go see it. I did say to him that he might be the only man there, but that didn't appear to be a problem for him.
I wasn't really that bothered and had sort of assumed that I would watch it on my next trip on a small 4" x 6" screen.
But no, he came over and off we went.
It was a lovely evening and we strolled up the road to the cinema. There was something so nice about the way he draped his arm over my shoulders, so relaxed and familiar.
The film itself was quite funny, with the best bits being ALL the clothes - WOW!
Half way through it, he sat up, looked around and said in a fairly pleased voice, "ahh...I'm not the only man here, there is one other."
If his laughter throughout is any indication, then he thoroughly enjoyed the film, as did I.
In fact, we enjoyed our whole evening.

Local Residents - part deux

Last autumn I wrote a very brief post about some of the locals, well these locals have gone forth and multiplied.

The perfect 3

Side by side strolling through Regents Park.

Side by side dining at Dim t.

Side by side conversation at Chez moi.....priceless!!

Sometimes it is just the simple things in life that make me smile.

The differing sexes

Actually this post is NOT about how different men are from women, but how 7 year old boys behave so completely different from 7 year old girls.

To be more specific, when walking back to school from a field trip, the girls dawdled a bit. But the boys ran riot. They climbed on walls, picked up sticks, rolled around on grassy front lawns, jumped on each other, shouted "you're an idiot" and one boy even manage to put two little sticks into his ears only to have them batted out by another mischievous boy. They did all this, while completely ignoring any of the other poor members of the public that just so happened to be walking along on the same pavement. Absolutely no manners.

And yes, I'm grumbling.

In fact, I'm feeling decidingly grumpy at the moment.

But seriously, I was embarrassed for the teacher of this class.

These louts were unbelievable and cheeky with it too.

Makes me very glad that I am NOT a primary school teacher.

I could rant on about this subject for a while, but I have homework to do, so this is a short one!

Exhaustion is creeping in.....

I need to be careful, I'm feeling more than just tired.

I'm weary.

This is usually the point that I start to get worn out and run down.

Followed by being ill.

I have so much work that I need to do, I can't afford to be ill.

It feels like I'm on overload.

I'm really not sure how I'm going to manage it all.

Sometimes I think I need to clear out some earlier information from my brain.

It feels like its at capacity.

I'm at a point where there are simply some things that I cannot begin to think about at this time. My priority list has had to be readjusted somewhat.

Weariness sets in almost as soon as I stop. I sit down and wonder if I can stand up again.

I'm tired, that's all, just tired.

Making a spectacle of herself

Inspired by my dear friend Nicola and her lovely boy, Captain Underpants, I took my little girl for her first eye test.

Thankfully, as my budget would not allow me to buy anything else, she does not need glasses.

Her vision is perfect - phew!

Mine on the other hand has set me back '2 for the price of 1' pairs of glasses, to help prevent eye strain.

Well I couldn't remain perfect forever, could I?

No time at all

I'm sure I've written about this subject before, but it is still a major sticking point with me.

I feel like I'm living my life on a schedule, never able to just let the day role out.

For instance, today I was able to sleep in as my child was at a sleepover.

I woke up at 8.45am, got my morning coffee, went back to bed and started my homework.

Maths revision for an exam on 'shapes and space' this Tuesday.

My child was dropped off at 10.40am and we raced up to the Sainsbury's for a some much needed supplies. Raced home again and set off to our friend's house for lunch.

Only to discover that the bus was only going one stop before it did a completely MAD diversion in the opposite direction.

PAH!!!

Our lovely friend kindly hopped into her car and picked us up.

Finally we're relaxing with cups of tea/coffee, chatting and catching up while our delightful girlies play 'nicely' in the other room.

Then came lunch, more talking, cake and a ride back up the road, before we found ourselves waiting at another bus stop to go to child's swimming lesson for 4.30pm.

And gratefully, my mother came and picked us up and dropped us off.

Supper and bath came and went, with a story to end my daughter's day.

Oh gosh, almost time to sit down.

Ahh.....peace.

It's my time of day, except that I need to do some more homework and make sure the alarm is set for the morning, to begin the process all over again.

I know that I've chosen this particular path and that I'm really excited to be doing the next step in my training, which I'm sure will be even more intense, but I am so looking forward to this July. I will have almost 2 weeks off, just for me, before my child's school breaks up for the summer.

That is 2 weeks to do nothing, except wake up and take her to school.

It means that I might actually get to read a novel or do some gardening or maybe bake some biscuits.

I could even go for a stroll. Not a mad dash, pounding the pavement to get somewhere on time or early. But a leisurely walk with no definite destination in mind.

It's all about time or lack of.

Would I want another extra couple of hours in my day?

Probably not.

I would simply fill it with yet more chores, homework or some other activity, rather than taking those 2 hours to relax.

Ahh....now there's a though, 2 hours to do nothing but relax.

My daughter's wish list

This is the latest incarnation of "mama, when we have money, can I have......."

1. Buy a house, a small one;

2. And get a kitten, a small one;

3. And get a puppy, a small one;

4. And buy a car, a small, pink one;

And so the list goes on.......at least she's asking for small and not super big!

Melting pot

Last week, I met someone who had the same heritage as me.

As he told me all the different parts that make up who he is, I stood there in disbelief.

Russian, Polish, English, American, Jewish and one other.

It is the one other that made me laugh.

Nigerian.

What a strangely bizarre mixture, eh?