As I spend a lot of time with my daughter, I tend to write about her a lot too. The boys barely get a mention, especially if they have been doing their usual 'boy' things of being zoned out on hand held gaming devices (no idea what they're called), not listening to anything I say and eating everything in the house. But it is time to rectify that and therefore this entire post will be dedicated to the male of the species. Not just my two boys, but some other boys that mean a lot to me too. Here goes...
During the recent Easter holidays, H1 cleaned my car for me so it looked nice for my volunteer work. He did a good job and I gave him some money. Being slightly high on car wax he asked if I could give him a driving lesson. Oh dear. Well, no I replied. Oh please, he begged, just to the top of the lane. What? Don't be silly, it's illegal and I'm not insured to take children out on the public highway while they are in the driver's seat. He hopped about a bit and insisted he knew how to do it anyway as he'd watched Top Gear loads of times. Oh for goodness' sake, alright then I said (rather stupidly) BUT I will reverse out of the drive and you can drive it back in. His face lit up like a Christmas tree as he slid into the driver's seat and waggled the steering wheel about. I then began to have second thoughts and decided that driving into the drive and heading straight for the garage door was maybe, on reflection, not such a good plan. You can drive it straight forward on the track, I said, that way there's nothing you can hit. Famous last words...
I told him which pedals were which and he proceeded to rev the living daylights out of my little car. I had a bad feeling about this. I tried my best to explain about pedal control and going gently at it. He said OK, slammed his foot down and we shot forward at what felt like 90 miles an hour. Break, BREAK! I yelled. WHICH ONE IS IT? He yelled back. I grabbed the hand break and pulled hard. We skidded along, straight towards a small tree on the drive and stopped just before we hit the trunk. That's it, get out! I said. I almost kissed the ground, I can tell you. Oh wow! said H1, clearly pumped up and ready for anything. I was dead scared but can we do it again? Um, NO, I replied, never ever again. You will have to wait until you can afford proper driving lessons with a man who won't pass out if you do that and who has dual control in his car. I need a cup of tea.
End of lesson.
Fortunately neither H1 nor I were worse for wear, apart from me feeling a bit sick. The tree had lost a lower branch but my car was unscathed. Thank goodness' for that as I need it so much, especially on Tuesday mornings when I collect Mrs M and take her out for a walk somewhere nice and usually windy. This week the weather was bright and breezy so we headed off for a walk along the cliffs nearby. As she got in the car she bent her head and gestured to her husband standing at the door. Would you just get out of the car so he can see you properly? He doesn't feel as if he can get through the day otherwise. Mr M was clearly embarrassed and flapped his hands about saying
Don't tell her that! I obliged and gave him a twirl, which seemed to please him. Mrs M said that would have cheered him up no end. Happy to help!
We spent a good two hours walking along the cliff paths and sitting admiring the view when we felt the need for a breather. Even though the wind was a bit stiff, the air felt so healthy and clear we didn't mind being buffeted about. There were lots of people walking their dogs and a few stopped to chat for a minute or two.
We took shelter in a cafe to share a pot of tea and while away another half an hour before I took her back home, where she probably spent the rest of the afternoon asleep in her chair. The combination of exercise and powerful fresh sea air is a sure fire way to make sure you sleep well! On the way home I played one of my Luke Bryan CDs. I ordered one from Amazon and the Postie pushed it through my door less than 24 hours later. How did that happen? Incredible. The music is everything I could have wished for and I have spent a whole week driving through winding country lanes with my windows rolled down and the soft southern tones of LB blaring out. I know almost every word to every song on those two CDs and believe me, I sing them loud. It is doing wonders for the shape of my face, sculpting a nice firm jaw line and is a perfect way to release tension. This is all fine and dandy when I'm driving alone, as no one can hear but I still do it when I have a car full of children. They sit cringing in the back, pretending I am nothing to do with them whatsoever and they have never seen me in their lives before. Why would they do this? Well, it could be because I can't actually sing. Really sad, wish I could. The only good thing is that Luke Bryan has a lovely deep voice and I have quite a deep voice too, not in a butch way I must stress, but not squeaky and glass shattering either, so even though my notes may be a tad off, I can actually match his depth of voice.
We drove by an old lady standing at a bus stop and H2 reached over to shut my window just in case she thought it was
him into modern country music. I slapped his hand away and asked why he was so bothered about impressing an elderly lady anyway. He admitted he hadn't thought of that.
He also hadn't thought how his distinct dislike of physical exercise will do him no good now or in the future. Having had this pointed out to him many, many times, he finally agreed to come on regular evening walks with Pea and I. On a fine calm evening we drove to the reservoir and walked the paths and through the woods. He actually really enjoyed it once he stopped fretting about how far we were going and how long we would be. There were plenty of sticks about for him to whack weeds and tree trunks with and he loved the woods and the disused railway track. He has been walking an hour every night for a week and feels so much better for it. He looks rosy cheeked and bright eyed and feels his muscles tightening. Hopefully it will be something that stays with him through his life and keeps him fit and healthy.
There is another really special man who came into my life in the Autumn; my gorgeous nephew. Tomorrow is a very special day for him as it is his Christening day. There will be lots of people there to cheer him on and give him lots of love and cuddles. My brother (another very special man in my life) said he will either be so chilled out he won't care a jot, or he will become overwhelmed by all the attention and not enjoy his day at all. Babies eh? It will be a treat just to see his beautiful smile and if I get chance to give him a hug that will be the best bit of the entire day for me. My brother gleefully informed me of the wealth of handsome farmers and hunky guys attending the Christening. He described their rugged features, bulging muscular arms and mud covered trucks, all stuff of my dreams, then flattened it by telling me they are all either married or old enough to be my grandfathers. Great, thanks bro.
I will keep my eyes open though, just in case he missed one.
Have a lovely day and hug your boys! xxx
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