Lilac

L is for ........Leaving home

This week 2 of my children left home,a momentous event as every parent will tell you.

Now I can honestly say that teenage children can be a challenge at times, they seem to be programmed so that:

• they cannot get out of bed without some gentle persuasion
• they are unable to see dirty washing on the floor
• they are unable to match socks in their half asleep state before college
• they need to switch on every light in the house in order to navigate around it even in daylight hours
• they need to simultaneously watch TV, send messages to their friends on MSN, update their music collection for their ipods and their friends ipods too. Oh and talk on the phone to their girlfriend
• when they talk on the phone to their new (and very lovely girlfriend) they lose track of time.
• somehow they are surprised at the the notion of phone bills

Despite such programming let me say that teenagers are also a complete delight. Suddenly they are able to cook you delicious food. You can have a decent debate about topical issues. They have interesting opinions and ideas.When they give you a hug you know its from the heart.

Its only a small step at this stage, just up the road to his dads, but a huge step in terms of his growing independence since dad often works away.

For me its another  of my little birds fluttering into the big bad world. We have spoken on the phone every day and food has been delivered. But do you know he has already learnt how to wash up and hoover and tidy and do his own washing....its a miracle in only a week!

My youngest son also left home to live here.

Wonder if it was the rain that brought him back in from the tent before bedtime?

DAD

ooPS I am already getting behind myself in this simple task, so I will niftily take a leap to D.

My dad would be very surprised to think he is famous in blogland but here is his 5 mins of fame, I will spare you having to read through an extra 10 minutes although I could easily fill up the time singing his praises.

I am very pleased and honoured to have such a nice man as my dad. He is just about to celebrate his 77th birthday and is a daily inspiration. He has the energy of a man half his age. He always gets up early and starts each day with a project or more in his mind. He will happily work away for hours on whatever task he has set himself, talk about focus...too bad I didnt inherit that particular gene. His projects are usually things he is doing for other people from laying flagstones, gardening, decorating, mending things through to childcare. He adores my children and will spend time taking my youngest son in particular ( the others are independent now) on adventures on the bus or the train.

He is a bit of a quirky character and likes to surprise us. Two years ago he went on a journey to explore New Zealand. I f any one needs persuading of the merits of going there have a chat with, him he loved it. He had lots of adventures there, the highlights being, doing a bungey jump and skydiving, believe me I have seen the DVD footage to prove it. The plane went so high that you can see the curve of the earth as they fall through the air.

Last bit coming up, he drives around on a motorbike with a sidecar attached just like Wallace from the animated movies of Wallace and Grommit. This means that all the local kids wave to say hello and little old ladies always stop and have a chat at the supermarkrt telling him stories of when they were young and they too used to ride around in something similar.

What a nice way to trigger happy memories.