fireworks

Last week was half term and for us it was pretty relaxed. I love having the kids around, they are not too demanding now that they are older and it’s just nice to have their company. I’ve been thinking a lot about mortality lately, especially as a really lovely lady I know has been told that she has probably just three years left. It certainly makes you think. And I just want to spend as much time as possible with my family close by.

Halloween

We hadn’t planned much this Halloween as Graham had to take Ash (the kitten) into the Vets for his operation. Only, I got the time wrong and he was too late, so Ash still has his manhood intact for the time being. 

This means that there was no-one to take the kid’s trick or treating so I made it up to them a little by baking cookies and letting them decorate them with spooky creatures. They had loads of fun. It’s funny how a simple gingerbread man cookie cutter can be used to create monsters. The other cookies I cut out free hand.

They also enjoyed answering the door with a big bucket of sweets to hand out to all the visitors. 

Bonfire Night

The rest of the half term week was fairly quiet with us staying in and keeping warm and occupying our time with homework, laptops, and lego. I just enjoyed not having to get up and rush around in the morning to get everyone ready for school. 

Our friends invited us over to their house for fireworks on Saturday night. There was no bonfire but plenty of explosions to enjoy.

If I’m honest, I’m not a huge fan of garden fireworks and after the first few the Little Man decided he couldn’t handle the noise (he does have sensory issues.) So we watched from the window. I had to go in because the cold and noise was making me feel ill too. Pretty soon, Boo joined us along with two of our friend’s kids. I was surprised at Star who stayed out and enjoyed every minute, she’s never enjoyed fireworks before. But she was with a good friend which I guess made a difference.

The sparklers were a better hit, and so were the hot dogs that were served. Overall, it was nice to catch up with friends and do something different. 

Back to School

Monday saw the kids going back to school. We had everything sorted, clothes, homework, p.e. kits, school bags etc the day before. It still turned out to be a manic morning. What is it about school mornings that things just don’t go smoothly? 

The kids going back to school made me think about our friends, the ones we spent Saturday night with. When we lived in our old house, all of our kids went to the same school and that’s how we met. 

I remember one day, some 7 years ago, I was waiting in the school playground with a baby Little Man in his pushchair. It was nearly time for Boo to finish her day at nursery. Then this man, who I don’t ever remember seeing before, came over to me and started telling me about how he’d fallen off his bike and hurt his knee. 

He then proceeded to lift up his trouser leg and show me the hurt knee. Then he showed me his hurt elbow and I remember thinking ‘who is this strange guy showing me his body parts in the school playground?’ 

After that, he sought me out every day in the playground and spoke to me, it turned out that our three children were all very similar in age. Before long, they were knocking on our door in the morning and we were walking to school together. 

Over the years we have become good family friends, despite us both moving house and school. Of course I don’t see them every day now, but it’s still nice to catch up when we do.