My 48th Birthday

I have no idea what I did for my 48th birthday. Scrolling through Facebook I see that I met Craig for an Indian at lunchtime but then I'm drawing a blank on the day's events and the following weekend.

It must have been so astronomically fantastic and wine-infused that I've forgotten! Maybe we danced till dawn and laughed till we cried. Or maybe it was so fantastically boring that there's nothing to remember. Or maybe I have early dementia.

Cub Scouts

When Craig first said he wanted Jack to join Boy Scouts of America (BSA)  I said no way. At that time they did not allow gay kids or atheists to join or lead and I didn't want to support an organization that did that.
In time he won me over (he had been a scout and loved it) so I got to know the local pack and thought I'd give it a go. It felt inclusive and friendly, though a couple of leaders were a tad "unique" I have to say.  Then, happily, BSA announced they would include gay scouts and have actually gone one step further and recently announced their support for transgender kids. Awesome.
The atheist thing is still a bit wishy-washy but our local pack leaves people alone to worship whatever faith they wish to. Like I said, it's a friendly, inclusive group.

S-Town

By far, the best Podcast* I have ever listened to is S-Town.

It's a true story, set in rural Alabama in a small town with colorful and crazy characters. It's only 7 episodes long and I binged the whole series in 2 days. It was quite amusing, walking around with head phones in, dusting and ignoring my children for two days or scowling at them when they persisted with questions. I had to hide in the loo at least twice.

At the end I felt lost - I wanted so much more! But I think that's the sign of a great series.  I spent a long time on Google maps looking at the town and searching for what's happening to the characters after the series finished. I can't recommend it enough. Listen to it!

*If, like me, you hate learning about yet another type of technology and don't know how to upload or listen to podcasts, simple look for S-town on the Internet and follow the link to the podcast. Hit "Subscribe" and then listen for free! Or go to the Podcast app on your phone and search for it.

Turtle Hike & Pizza Party

Craig and the boys wracked-up some accolades this week. On Monday Craig and Jack got honored at the Boy Scout's Court of Honor for completing the 18 mile Turtle back-pack hike and today both boys got recognized at school for doing kind and thoughtful things so I got invited to their pizza party. Jack and Craig got really nice, hand-poured metal turtle medals.
Yep, I'm boasting. And nope, I don't feel bad. These guys deserve it.

Mother's Day Camping

For the 2nd time this year we got Dolly out and went camping for the weekend and it was PERFECT.  My only complaint is that it went too quick.

Friends came to visit for the day on Saturday but it was primarily just us 4 hiking, star gazing and hanging out together for the weekend. I was so relaxed and didn't shout once. No stress, no place to be or things to organize, just enjoying the moment with my family. I made a little vow to do this more. To put them first more. Us first.

The only bad thing was that Danny fell off his scooter and hurt his head and shoulder and has vowed never to go near any kind of vehicle for the rest of his existence, but I'm fairly sure he'll change his mind on that. Oh, and raccoons ate our entire food supply by raiding our cooler, but that's ok. Like I said, I was relaxed the entire weekend.

When we got home I did some gardening and Craig made me a Sunday roast. He's made a huge effort lately and that's a good thing. The boys made me cute cards. They are adorable & funny. Daniel described me as being as tall as a smart board and Jack drew a picture of me that makes me look like Russell Brand. But they tried, bless them.

I am one lucky lady :)

Brit Expat Picnic

After the election I hid for a while. I avoided groups like the Brit Expat group because I knew several people in it who had voted for Trump and it was just too much to be around them. Even now, there's a couple I can't even look at, but I also know that there's a lot of people in the group that I love and I also help run events.  So I put a smile on my face and co-hosted the Spring Picnic and Sports Games Day.

It was a great day. The weather was perfect and the kids LOVED it! Those classic English games like the 3-legged race and egg & spoon race are timeless. Danny had fun but refused to enter any games, bless him.  Jack did every game with gusto, determined to win. The usual scenario.

I did get to chat with a friend who's originally from Iraq and she was telling me about the hoops she has to jump through with immigration, and I realize that we've had it easy, being from the UK. For example, we had to live here on a green card for 5 years before applying for citizenship and she has to wait for 10 years. On a light note she was telling me about her son and his monstrous fibs. He told his teachers she was in hospital dying (there's nothing wrong with her) and he told their neighbor that his dad liked their car and was planning on stealing it. She told me these stories and my sides ached with laughing. I'm glad to know it's not just Jack that has a problem with fibbing.
So all in all a great day. And I managed to avoid the Trump people.