Mother's Day - the aftermath

Okay, the presents were given, the cards passed over, and it was a good day. Molly came bounding in at the pre-arranged time, waking us both up and almost throwing the bundle of goodies over Louise in her excitement.

Stupid me, we forgot to get pictures. But Louise was in the usual Mother's Day happy place. There were chocolates, cream eggs, a magazine to put her feet up with, a beautiful card handmade by her darling daughter and a lovely glass keepsake Molly picked up (with daddy's money of course) in the week.

Then it was off to Scarborough for a blustery spring walk along the beach and up to the castle:



(Castle grounds and castle at the back of the green diamond)



(Seafront)



(Beach huts)

There may be big bits of Scarborough where it's full on naff seaside town, all amusement arcades, shops full of tat and shellsuited locals. But there's an awful lot to enjoy there. And we did.

Doing the Mother's Day runaround.....

Today (well, yesterday, but you get the idea) Molly and I decided to sort out the presents for Mother's Day on Sunday. We had a great idea over the weekend, involving fun, chocolate and artwork by Molly. All was sorted, we woke up this morning with an idea of what we needed to get.

Then I realised that it was such a good idea that we'd actually done it three years ago. Oh crap. Massive rethink. And then a wander around Pocklington trying to gather everything together. But we did it, all we have to do now is put it all together, decorate it and Molly has to add all the personal touches that make it all worthwhile. Because you can spend a fortune on flowers, or jewellery or anything. But nothing, absolutely nothing makes a mummy smile like a handmade something, no matter how small or how rough.

A day of stupid big sci-fi movies and folks on ice

Strange kind of Mother's Day over here. After a morning spent opening her presents, we've spent a lovely day, went out for a walk around Pocklington and ended up spending the afternoon watching one of Louise's presents.

She's always had a real love for big, stupid sci-fi. Armageddon, Terminator; that sort of thing. Hates some of my favourite sci-fi. Doesn't like 2001, not too keen on Close Encounters. But today we spent the afternoon watching Independence Day. Yes, that big, stupid clunky bit of sci-fi with the really stupid ending. And we had a fab old time doing so.

Next up, Molly & Louise have got three hours of Dancing on Ice to watch. It's the final it seems. They're both very excited about it. I'll be upstairs. But they'll have a great time.

Happy Mother's Day

Molly and I have been busy baking and making stuff and getting cards and presents ready. Tomorrow we expect to be woken very early for the Mother's Day unwrapping. This was the message Molly left for Louise on her board:



Very sweet.

It's back: return of Black Dog, Mother's Day weekend and more problems.....

Well that good mood didn't last that long did it?

Still up from getting the Carter tickets, we entered Mother's Day weekend with a trip into York (new Brownie uniform for Molly) and a nice mooch round the shops.
Next up it was a contrived set up by Molly suggesting Louise has a quick nap because she had a bit of a tummy ache earlier. Louise had obviously been preped ahead of this and agreed readily, knowing that we needed her out of the way for a bit of kitchen time.
We made Mother's Day cookies. Which are just normal cookies with a bit of icing on top. But lovingly made.

Then off to Pocklington's Chinese restaurant, recently reopened after the June floods. And a great meal it was, made all the better as it was a complete surprise to Louise. Amazingly, Molly had managed to keep it totally secret, almost unheard of for her. Normally she'd spend all week asking Louise if she thought it was time to visit the Chinese again, or what sort of food she'd want if we went out for a meal on the weekend. But not this time.

So far, so good. But at some point on Saturday I went out into the back garden and noticed the downpipe from the shower outlet was leaking. Again. This happened a while back and was fixed then. Unfortunately it's started again. The main problem is that if it's anything more than a leaking valve just where the pipe leaves the wall, it becomes a huge job. Because the builders, bless them, decided to put the shower drain pipe under the floor. So if there's something wrong with the pipe further in, it's time to rip the bathroom out to find the problem.

Of course, Louise, as usual, is the voice of reason in all this. We've got the plumbers coming in on Monday, there's no evidence at all that it's anything more than a leaky seal and it just needs fixing. No problem, no property damage and no need at all to worry.

But that's just not my way is it?
To be honest it's difficult, not to mention rather embaressing, to try to describe how ridiculous the thoughts and feelings I have in times like these. The truth is that I'm fully aware of how stupid I'm being. I know how silly it is to get so affected by something that is, in most likelihood, just a minor problem.

But as soon as something like this happens, my mind seems to plunge back into all too familiar patterns. I tense up, stress overwhelms me and I feel desperately overwhelmed with despair and frustration, incapable of using logical, reasoned thought and just retreat into depression.

So that was Saturday. Sunday was spent in a down mood. Not particularly bad, just that horrible grey mood that washes everything out. Despite that, Mothering Sunday was a great day.

And then today.
Work was okay. We had the people coming to look at the downpipe this afternoon and Louise was home to report that they did a good job and they seemed confident that it was all fixed now.

But it's never that easy. We just went out and there's a tiny drip of water coming out from where they've just sealed it.

That simple little, insignificant little bit of water has just sent me all the way back down again. I'm now convinced it's something more serious, convinced there's a problem that will involve ripping away floors, ceilings and bathrooms, convinced everything is wrong. Life just feels a bit shit tonight.

Happy Mother's Day