It was one of those half-hearted attempts to encourage wholesome activity in Boy Three. A pathetic plea to do something that doesn’t involve doing battle in cartoonish worlds, listening to shouty American YouTubers, or both. “Draw me a picture. Just, you know, how you feel, or something… “ and off he went. I’d forgotten the […]
Things I’ve learned from my children – the party version
It’s party time. Another rite of passage lately – the teenage party. The campaign began months before, a subtle and effective manoeuvring of the notion from a slight suggestion to an in-the-calendar fact. I tried to think of a reason to say no, but there really wasn’t one. The teen in question and his friends […]
More than you’d expect from a day out in Balloch
This post is all about taking a closer look at the ordinary things. What started off as a perfectly nice but fairly unexciting Sunday outing to Balloch, turned out to be unforgettable. And in a good way. Things I learned from a #kidsgofree day out: Human mothers don’t have it too bad. There’s a kind […]
Six things to do on a snow day
Hurrah! The Beast From The East has finally arrived and all schools in the region have been shut. The view from the window is blizzardy. It’s probably a bit chilly, but I haven’t ventured out yet. I’m listening to a radio phone-in of people reporting the whiteness where they are (not that interesting […]
New year new snooze: Is smart sleeping even a thing and is it worth thinking about?
Remember when sleeping was just a matter of lying down and shutting your eyes? I was brilliant at it – talented. My only concern was that I wasn’t particularly good at doing it on public transport or for all that long after the sun came up. But I could do it pretty much anywhere else […]