Summer Holiday Sloth

After two weeks of frenetic end of term activity, the summer holidays have now started.  Last year year we went on holiday immediately and had quite a busy summer visiting relatives and also doing a bit of redecorating at home.  This year we don't have so many plans and to be honest I don't mind.  It's relaxing to potter about in pjs all morning and achieve nothing more in the day than making something nice to eat for tea.

I'm enjoying spending time with my daughter, aware that the long slow summers with her will come to an end in a few years time.  We are less likely to clash when the pressure of school isn't there and she can sleep as much as she wants.  I'm not booking her into any of those activities she used to do like Stagecoach drama. She's not so keen and is happy to entertain herself.  Unfortunately this usually means watching rubbish TV. (The latest dreadful programme is something called 'I Wanna Marry Harry' - fake prince, gullible American girls competing for him.)  She also spends a lot of time watching a girl from Brighton called Zooella on You Tube. She 'internet famous' according to Kate because she makes video logs of her life which loads of teenagers watch. Should I be restricting this and insisting that she takes more exercise and does improving reading like Jane Eyre?  No, I'm no tiger mum - I'm going to let her take the summer at her own pace.  It's her last chance because GCSEs begin for her in September so she'll be on the exam hamster wheel for the next however many years.  Let it go...

Our sloth contrasts with husband's very busy life.  One of the reasons we haven't gone away is that he has just returned from a trip to Italy.  With his nephew, he drove 2,000 miles across Europe and back to compete in the Maratona, a challenging cycle event in the Dolomites.  They did it but it was tough with lots of climbing and they struggled to cope with the altitude.  And now he's back at work, up early every day for his long commute while I'm still in bed.

Yesterday was my birthday and I had a lovely day.  It started with a morning walk in Delamere Forest with husband, who'd taken the day off, and the dog.  Then a relaxing couple of hours at the hairdresser's eliminating my grey roots.  Kate and her friend who slept over on Thursday evening had made me a Lemon Layer Cake and in the afternoon a few friends called for tea and cake.  Moved on by 5pm to the bottle of champagne husband had brought back from his trip - he'd stopped off en route to Italy at a vineyard in Reims.  Then out to our favourite local restaurant where I had aubergine parmigana which was delicious.

My present from my husband was a Polar Loop activity monitor.  So next week will be able to measure just how idle I am.