Just a quickie!

Hello everyone - just a quick blog to say hi and goodnight! It's the first chance I've had to nab the computer since posting my blog on Friday, the one that appeared like some egotistical, self-important piece of drivel on the main page by accident.

Well, the trip to collect my gorgeous stepson, Elias, went better than was expected. Yes, the sun blazed down and the drive was slow due to the huge numbers of people descending on Cornwall for the weekend; yes, Isabella did sleep for a bit on the way up, thus ensuring she screamed for most of the drive back; and yes, I was ready to kill the apparently long-suffering Dave when I finally got home a good four hours of hellish motoring later only to be met at the door by said Dave dressed in the apron I made him for Christmas (out of extremely high-quality ticking bought at a bargain price from a market) - he had not only made the dinner for the gang, but had a bath run for me complete with essential oils and candles, towels warming on the heater and a large glass of cider close to hand. Bliss!

While I wallowed in the warm, scented waters clutching my glass in one hand and Wuthering Heights in the other, I listened to the muted sounds emanating from the rest of the house: Dave chatting in baby-babble as he fed Isabella her tea, she giggling delightedly and he relaying the events of his day in the same sing-song tone he uses to sing nursery rhymes; Sam, Elias and Lucy playing in one of the bedrooms, Lucy shrieking hysterically at whatever nonsense the boys were telling her and ACDC playing in turn with Frank Sinatra on the CD player (an eclectic taste in music, our bunch, due to us I'm afraid - they can sing along to Louis Prima, are best friends with Billie Holiday and can share a tune with Dean MArtin as well as they can with Nirvana!

I listened to this mixture of sounds, the edges taken off by the barrier of walls and doors, and thanked God, the fates or whatever else it was that saw fit to give me the life I have, full of these wonderful, if sometimes annoying, people. I had been indulging in a little envy on the journey home, the lengthy waiting in slow-moving queues affording me plenty of opportunities for thought as Elias dozed beside me, his gentle snores providing a pleasing counterpoint to Isabella's frequent shrieks from the rear. His mum had been telling me about her plans for the weekend, all of which had sounded easy, restful and carefree to my tired ears (yes, they truly are tired as I have had problems with ear infections on and off for weeks). Somewhere in the back of my mind a tiny, envious voice whispered about how long it is since I had had a break with Dave, how long it has been since we had only ourselves to think about and how easy it is to be fun when you don't have to deal with so many others' needs. How shallow is that? Sitting in the bath and hearing the day-to-day goings on of the family, I knew I wouldn't swap with anyone.

The rest of the weekend has been relaxed and restful, but I truly am too tired to write more for now (plus I know I am sounding smug when I don't mean to. I'm sure it won't be long before I am moaning about life yet again!).

Night all xx