Callums career choices

Callum has decided his career path.............

1) Archaeologist     2) Architecture (sic)    3) Undercover Sniper (long range)

He has also upgraded his reading and discovered a huge thirst for it very suddenly, that and also gaining knowledge of anything and everything. (This means probably obscure, but interesting, and absolutely useless at least for the time being, information to be recalled at inopportune and inappropriate moments in his life). Fantastic! Just like his dad!
The particular book that is popular among his little band of mates is "Diary of a Wimpy Kid"
He thinks it is great and very funny, and it is. So much so that he wanted to buy it on Friday after school.
I was very keen to oblige, being that it is rare for him to ask for books, and promised I would buy it for him....................

Location......WH Smith. (Discussion between assistant and I). "Do you have Diary of a Wimpy Kid please?" "All of them sir?" (Me distracted looking through some other books)....."Eh? OH, yes yes for my son please!" Callum goes with assistant to collect book, and I follow to find all SIX books in the series proudly tucked under his arm and on the way to the till. "£35.00 please sir"

Still......... £5 cheaper than a PS3 game and he has read one already and it has been great hearing him chuckle and laugh loudly and read bits to me all weekend so far, so it is money very well spent. He has also cleared his bookcase of rubbish toys and "stuff" for the start of, "my new library".
So we now have an agreement that in return for his chores and helping here and there I will buy him books, as long as I get to choose a classic each month, such as Treasure Island.............. (or War and Peace).

Callum also announced that the piece of paper I had seen him scribbling on was his signature practice sheet. This, apparently, is in case he becomes a film star or director, as he does plan to make a few films.
I asked if the film work might not get in the way of the archaeology or architecture or particularly the sniper job?
"Obviously, I would do some assassinations between making a film dad"...............Silly me!

Callum has also now started a journal, which he is writing in his Dr Who notebook, which he says he "knew would come in handy one day". I said that it would be a good idea to write a diary.

"Dad!" "Girls write diaries. Boys write a journal"....................Silly me.

"You will be....." he said, "so proud of me" and I was shown his first journal entry.....................all about when he first heard and repeated the word "bollocks"............I am so proud!

To be continued...................

Epic weekend.

Oh well.................so much for attempts to write everyday. Easy to say, but not to do, and surprisingly difficult if not much has happened. Plus my last entry was a tad long and probably a little boring.
But to be fair this is where I air views and a little day to day history for Callum and posterity, and most of it will be boring I guess.
Anyway.............the rest of the working week was good. Mostly from home but good all the same. If only IT would make sure everything works, as I am using my own home network as the employers router doesn't want to work. C'est la vie!
The way work is going is killing morale amongst my colleagues, but has improved flexibility for me personally, although there is now almost no contact with one or two colleagues I really miss, which is a shame. The real shame is that there is a storm coming that the public are unaware of yet, (I work in the public sector for a local authority). The cuts will be awful and the human cost tragic. We are probably public enemy number one thanks to the rag top papers, the news, and Mr Cameron. The public sector are not the demons earning silly money for nothing with fat pensions. Most are normal decent family people, who earn a reasonable or low wage and have contributed heavily to pensions that have been cut.
We are now facing a 20% minimum wage cut in the next 12 months and allowances for using our own cars etc. cut altogether. Public sector workers are not the problem. The public want our blood because they have been brainwashed into thinking that getting rid of us will save the country. It wont. It will make it worse when no rubbish gets collected. Not enough Social Services/Housing/Planning/Council Tax/Business Rates/Highways officers to do the job. Day care reduced for the needy etc. etc. etc. Front line services killed off.
However, there will be plenty of high end managers and CEOs on £100k to £200k around, and plenty of Councillors on HUGE expenses. There is carnage and Hell coming...............you have been warned!

Anyway.................so far, this year has been one of getting things done which is pleasing. Talking of which, we had a result with the "Console and Arsehole" problem. Long story short............."arsehole" was made to pay me, via eBay for damage to my console caused by his faulty product used. Faulty console then sold via eBay for price matching what "arsehole" given me............= Brand new console = Much delight of Callum.

Speaking of Callum. He decided that he didn't want to go to the cinema to watch Deathly Hallows Part One as he was a little miserable, (see further), and he wanted his friend over, (see further).

So Harry Potter has been delayed for a week or two.
He is still a bit emotionally fragile, and has been very very cuddly and clingy and huggy. Bless his cottons. He is still waiting for his Christmas present from his mum, (expectant is probably the word). In the end I had to tell him that he probably wont be getting one, and I winced as I told him. Felt awful for telling him, but it was doing his head in every day.
He burst into floods of tears and held on to me and squeezed me for all he was worth. He didn't speak, he just cried and cried and cried. I told him it would be alright, and he told me it was "O.k...........not your fault" between sobs.

Then he let me go, and ran into the lounge and cried a bit more. Then, about ten minutes later, he came into the kitchen and announced........"Sorry dad for the rude word.............but she's a selfish bitch!" We are now not going to discuss "Sophie" (not mum), again. Apparently. (He has not heard from his mum since mid December, and she is apparently attempting to find out via various people if I have a partner.........why..........I don't know. Her caring for Callum and me having a partner are both quite unlikely. (I do have my eye on someone that I can't mention in case she reads here, but it is my own little "fairytale". Who knows. Hope is a great thing. For now I would settle for one of these.....................

It's been a good weekend. Saturday Callum has his mate Ryan round so I got to sit with the papers..........have Bacon Sandwiches.........coffee..........and watch El Cid on TV. What a joy!! What a cinematic God Charlton Heston was, and how beautiful was Sophia Loren?
It reminded me of my cinematic and film education with my father as a small boy. Watching the "epics" with him on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon, or, if I was lucky as I got older, a Monday night, when the film was usually a more modern one, like "Westworld" or "The Good The Bad and The Ugly".
Sadly we missed a friends little boys birthday party on Sunday as I had promised to help put back stuff in my dads loft. Ma didn't want him lifting after his recent operation.
We had a lovely Sunday lunch though, and watched Fantastic Mr Fox and Mr Bean afterwards.
So................looking forward to another productive week, and inching forwards again.

Shelf

Positives all present and correct.

Today I was made mindful, by another blogger, that we should count our 'blessings', so I decided to stop for a bit and to actually think about that.
A lot of what goes on in the world is relative, and is beyond most of us actually influencing in any meaningful way. We all know of the suffering of millions of children/homeless/diseased/orphans/disabled/poor/disadvantaged/abused/dis-this or dis-that.
There's the charity angle, but is that just a conscience satisfying act that keeps the real issues far from us actually thinking about it in detail? It's easier to say "I gave" and we feel better. Probably more about ourselves than the thought of what good our £5 or £10 will actually do on the ground. I admire the volunteers far more than the person that gives a large amount of money.

So...........I got to thinking that maybe simply "counting ones blessings" can actually do some good. If we stopped to think, and that thought process changed the way we treated someone/spoke/behaved, or made us not do something, or not complain to an extent that it made someone else's day better or at least not as bad, then we have achieved something......right? This would not be a random act of kindness, because it would be an active informed decision.

When I actually started counting my 'blessings' I realised how many I really had, in no particular order...........
My son..........simply wonderful. Loving, caring, funny..............I love and admire him so much there are not the right words in the English language, or any other ......... His health is another positive.
My health.............OK so I could lose a few pounds, but I have stopped smoking and I can ignore aches and pains and the results of a lot of rugby and karate and other sports over the years, as well as bodily abuse through alcohol, (current but only social so no problem and never has been), tobacco, (given up and hope to stay so), and recreational drugs, (not current and many years ago now), none of them ever to excess but thought I would fess up and acknowledge the truth. There are no real problems health wise.
I have a job. I get paid for my work. I get paid pretty well for my work.
I have a roof over my head. It's a pretty good home. It is a sanctuary. It is warm and dry. My bed is in it.
I have a car. The car gets us from A to B safely.
I have friends. Not as many as I would like, but hey, there is someone I can always call. They are all wonderful human beings.
I have wonderful family. I forgive the ones that did us harm or heartache, but the forgiveness is for us, not them.
We eat and drink. We eat and drink well. Sadly, we take it for granted.
Wow, the more I write about one thing another 3 or 4 come to mind!
So that I do not drone on...........it is probably suffice to say that we have ALL we need and most of what we want.
We do not have any major stress or calamity in our lives.
We can be aware of the gifts around us. We can pretty much say for certain that you’re in front of a computer. We also guess that you can read, which sets you apart from two billion people in the world who cannot. So already you can tally opportunities you have that not everyone can claim.
Look around at your surroundings, your own body included. What can you add to your list? You might mention such joys as comfortable clothing, good health, satisfying work, or a home to call your own. And what beyond your immediate surroundings: nourishing food, faithful friends, spiritual moorings? You may even discover less obvious positives; for instance, a difficult relationship forces you to mature, or deep distress over violence spurs you to spread peace. The more aware I am, the more astonished I grow at the extent of my good fortune. I did some detailed research then...........

If we could shrink the earth's population to a village of precisely 100 people, with all the existing human ratios remaining the same, it would look something like the following.
There would be:

• 57 Asians
• 21 Europeans
• 14 from the Western Hemisphere, both north and south
• 8 Africans
• 52 would be female
• 48 would be male
• 70 would be non-white
• 30 would be white
• 70 would be non-Christian
• 30 would be Christian
• 89 would be heterosexual
• 11 would be homosexual
• 6 people would possess 59% of the entire world's wealth and all 6 would be from the United States.
• 80 would live in substandard housing
• 70 would be unable to read
• 50 would suffer from malnutrition
• 1 would be near death; 1 would be near birth
• 1 (yes, only 1) would have a college education and 1 would own a computer

When one considers our world from such a compressed perspective, the need for both acceptance, understanding and education becomes glaringly apparent.
The following is also something to ponder... If you woke up this morning with more health than illness... you are more fortunate than the million who will not survive this week.
If you have never experienced the danger of battle, the loneliness of imprisonment, the agony of torture, or the pangs of starvation ... you are ahead of 500 million people in the world.
If you can attend a church meeting without fear of harassment, arrest, torture, or wrath... you are more fortunate than three billion people in the world, about 60% of the world population.
If you have food in the refrigerator, clothes on your back, a roof overhead and a place to sleep... you are richer than 75% of this world.

If your parents are still alive and still married... you are very rare, even in the United States and Canada.
If you hold up your head with a smile on your face and are truly thankful... you are fortunate because the majority can, but most do not.
If you can read this message, you are more fortunate than over two billion people in the world that cannot read at all.
We're a fortunate group of people.........................

Am I taking it too far? Dunno. But I am amazed of what reading a simple phrase on someone else's blog made me think about.
I can recognise the abundance present in my life, and find myself cheered and will remember during a dark time. Strangely, it does make me suddenly sad to realise that I have so much when others have so little. Not that I am going to feel undeserving, or be paralysed by guilt. As I said, it is all relative but our worlds and life's inequalities put me in a position to practice thanks for what I have got as opposed to moaning about what I haven't, even if only for today, but now I have written it I can go back for a reminder.

OK so I could do with a 'soul-mate' and a wonderful life companion, but that is more down to my being scared at the thought of another long term partner, as well as consideration for Callum, and I am wise enough and realistic enough to know that being balding, slightly overweight, pushing 50 with a young son at home makes me quite low on the "catch" list, and a pretty unattractive proposition for most women, faced with much younger and better looking propositions with better prospects. I am strangely liberated and reconciled in the knowledge and honesty that I am simply not the "attractive to women" type of bloke. I have made very poor choices with my "love life" and maybe I just aint no good at it.
Besides that I had most of what esteem and confidence I ever had kicked out of me last time. Hahahahaha.

Anyway............I digress away from 'blessings' into the realm of self pity, must not, as I am largely content, and despite some things Callum is too. Contentment it seems to me lasts far longer than "happy", whatever that is. Happiness always seems fleeting, or a collection of moments, as opposed to contentment being a more lasting element.
My apologies for such a long, and probably boring blog entry.
I have counted my positives, I hope properly, and I am.........well.............fortunate.

Shelf

Beware five fingers.

Weekends always go so quick. (Yes I know it's because there are 5 working days and 2 weekend days, but you know what I mean).
We had the best weekend for a while. As per my previous blog, Saturday was lie-in followed by leisurely bacon panini with coffee for me and juice for Callum, followed by more coffee for me, and a mixture of TV and net surfing and games with Callum for the rest of the day, intervened by a great lunch and dinner.
Callum had his best mate over for a couple of hours which meant I could relax with the papers, a book, and more coffee!
Evening was great as I relaxed with a couple of films and started on the 6 bottles of Jack Daniels I received for my birthday and Christmas  :0) 
On Sunday we went to friends, Debs and Allan. Allan has a great converted chapel as a home with a rambling garden for Callum, and Debs' dog Tilly, to explore every time we visit. It has a big kitchen in the main part of the chapel upstairs with original windows, and long kitchen table to socialise and eat at. Allan cooked a great Sunday roast for us and themselves and Debs daughter Georgiie.
In the lounge next door there is a great log burner and fish tank and great sofas to settle and socialise again or watch TV or play games consoles. A really lovely place and even lovelier people.
We took Bean Boozled with us and had a great game. The bad tasting ones are just hideous. We ordered some more jelly beans on Amazon and Debs and Allan are going to devise an alcohol based addition to the main game with forfeits for those that spit the bad tasting beans out. The forfeits will obviously be alcohol based, but will have other embarrassing additions that will seem perfectly normal when drunk. The game will be completed in time for Allan's birthday celebrations on 22nd January.

Callum has had me in a combination of tears of laughter and sadness all week.
He is still raw regarding his mum and burst into tears when I had to tell him that I doubted his Christmas presents from his mum and sister would be "arriving soon", as he suggested. He cried for a good ten minutes and I had to look away too. The turmoil within him is very sad to see. He feels he has to care because she is his mum, but he told me that he thinks "mum thinks of herself and never me". He has been over clingy with me, and when I asked why the extra cuddles and climbing into my bed at times, he said "Because you are all my world and all I have dad, and I don't have anyone else". Oh dear!
Anyway, he soon had me in fits when he suggested, as part of him educating me on the finer points of intruders and security generally, but specifically zombies, burglars and terrorists. Add to this the strict instruction that I should never, "in any circumstances" trust a clown with five fingers.

He has imparted this gem of information before. I didn't ask then and I didn't this time either. Best not!

I should also be aware that for zombie information I need to watch "Shaun of the Dead" or "Zombieland" (he and friends have been discussing zombies and security at school apparently). Callum says he has limited knowledge regarding burglars and zombies but could ably assist me in ridding our house of either.
Callum also received a room alarm for Christmas from our good friends Kaz and Norman and their son Ruaridh. We have built the alarm.

The strict and only reasons I am allowed in his room from this evening is ...............a) Tell him a relative is seriously ill.  b) A zombie is in the house. c) Tell him I am seriously ill. d) There is a fire outside that may be near the house requiring evacuation if it gets near. e) If I wish to cuddle him. f) I am not to go in his room to tell him if the smoke alarm goes off as he will know this because of the noise!
I came third..............!

Thanks to Micki for Bean boozled!

Ahhhhh........the weekend!
A lie-in with my little man jumping on the bed for a five minute cuddle, (with the post in his hands), and a bacon panini and coffee for breakfast.
I have added some music to the blog, which is becoming very enjoyable, therapeutic and fun, as well as some wit and wisdom.
Callum has waited all week to play a game with me. It is a Christmas present I had from Micki called "Bean Boozled". A very simple but really fun game that I suspect would be even better amongst a group of adults in the process of getting drunk.
There is a bag of mixed jelly beans and a wheel to spin.

The wheel is spun and it points to a coloured bean which the player must eat.
The trick is that each colour has two possible flavours, one good...........one bad.
As follows...............
Strawberry Jam or Centipede. Caramel or mouldy cheese. Coconut or baby wipes.
Juicy pear or bogies. Popcorn or rotten egg. Blueberry or toothpaste. Chocolate or dog food. Peach or vomit.
The game was going well..........only because I had got 2 rotten egg, a centipede, a mouldy cheese, and a vile dog food, with only a caramel for light relief, whereas Callum enjoyed 2 coconut, popcorn, and chocolate.
However, he then got a vomit flavoured one and then did actually vomit, and I almost did at the sight of him rushing to the sink. What a strange feeling it is to be between almost vomiting and laughing at the same time.
Needless to say the game ended abruptly, and we are taking it to a friends for dinner tomorrow so that others can share the evil that is Bean Boozled.
Thanks Micki it is a brilliant game!

High emotion and Good luck Ted. Consoles and arseholes.

Yesterday was a better day, and to paraphrase Mr Rafferty I "got it right next time".
The only trauma right now is that the Playstation is not working and Callum is very upset about it. It was either the new Monopoly game I got him for Christmas, or, and more likely, the lens cleaning disc I used on it.
Now, I have emailed the guy I bought the disc from on eBay, stating that the disc I bought from him has buggered my PS3, even though it says clearly it can be used on all games consoles and Blu-Ray players. All he is offering at the moment is a poxy £6.00 refund on the disc and says it's coincidence the PS3 wont work after use of the disc. I think not, but not sure what I can do, and I think he knows it and he is being a bit of a smug twat about it too.
I have emailed Sony for assistance and have to ring them later to discuss with a "techy" and see if it can be fixed. I have a feeling they will ask me to send it to them for a £150 repair, which is what I have read on a few forums.
If that is the case I might as well buy a new one for £270.

On a more real note I found this piece of news film that absolutely shows that good things do happen and that it makes one grateful for what one has. Good luck Ted!

It has been a little emotional in our house too this week. Callum is still a bit raw about his mum not bothering with him at Christmas. He has been quite emotional in the things he has been saying, which in turn has made me watery eyed. Firstly, he says that me giving up smoking is his "best present ever", and now I wont die young, but more importantly now that "mum doesn't love me or care about me, I wont be alone in the world for a while longer". (Cue my first little blub).
This morning, during a hug, he was very keen to reassure me that he will still hug me when he is older, and that he will look after me until I die. He was however sad that I was not a bit younger, "23 or 33", so that he could spend more life with me and I could watch him "grow up more". Then the killer that set me off was that "when you do die I will always remember you in my heart and mind dad". Needless to say I had to leave the room to get that pesky bit of grit from my eye!
There was I thinking he was pretty secure, but I fear not. He says he never wants to move and wants to be cosy in our house we have now, and that he is very happy I am taking him out of after school club and breakfast club for half the week due to me working from home, as we now have more time together.
Of course I am biased, but never in my car crash of a life have I ever met such a wonderful human being as Callum, let alone that I am lucky enough to have him as my son and buddy. He is such a treasure I can't find the words. He has taught me things, and made me a better person.

It is easy to forget that my little lad goes through life everyday without such a simple thing as his mothers care and love, and yes I know there are millions of children with far far less, and yes I know he has me, but he doesn't have his mum and worse still she openly shows him that she just doesn't give a shit for him. But he gets on with it, resilient as children are, but I can see the pain he feels right now and it is just not on. I asked his mother via a facebook message, (we are not facebook "friends").....why was he ignored, with not even a call or card? I just got blocked for my trouble and no response.
Sometimes the responsibility feels all consuming so that nothing else can be considered and some days it weighs very heavy. But in truth Callum is a joy and perhaps I beat myself up too much and I over complicate and think too much and worry worry worry that I have allowed my boys life to be initially and unnecessarily tainted by my poor decisions. I find it difficult at times to remember that things are as they are.
Oh the guilt.............even though I know it's not my fault, but he didn't ask to be born into the ultimate circumstances he is now in, and it is the guilt that pushed me towards the "over compensatory" trip as I wrongly assumed that someone, well.........me, had to try to put it right for him, but in truth there is no putting right to do. I am such a stupid old fool!
I can see that he has reached a sort of crossroads though. You can only kick a dog so many times when it comes to you before it either bites you or never comes back. I think he is seeing and hearing things for himself now and I don't think he is going back to get kicked again.

Anyway.............I love you Callum, more than I can say, and I hope that now and when I am gone you will say that I did ok for you.
Quite an emotional time, and emotive blog on reading it back...............but Teds story is an antidote!

Shelf

Get it right next time.

The first day back at work after the "festive break".
What can I tell you?
Well, Callum didn't want to get up......."Ever!" he said at 6.30am. I tried to kid him the darkness at half past silly o'clock was due to the partial eclipse, but he wasn't buying it, and he was not even tempted to jump out of his little pit to use his new telescope re aforementioned eclipse, and I failed miserably to enamour him with Professor Brian Cox-esque enthusiasm after we watched Stargazing together last night.
In the end the threat of me making him breakfast and him missing breakfast club was enough to rouse him from his dribbling semi-coma!

After dropping him at breakfast club at 8am the "refreshing" drive to Salisbury started, (cynical sarcasm? Noooooooo). I was initially behind an HGV which I managed to overtake after 8 miles. Result.
However, I was then hemmed in by what looked like a heroin induced Stevie Wonder in front and a cocaine ramped Michael Schumacher behind, like some hideous road based spit-roast that sapped my concentration in either smacking the arse end of Stevie or being rogered by Michael.
However, the 28 mile journey safely navigated I was able to get to work and as usual log-in to all equipment took approx 45 minutes...........
The rest of the day was like trying to eat soup in a basket with a chopstick. The more I tried, the longer it took and I was treading treacle.
So, did my best and thoughts of seeing my little man got me through. Felt much better when I collected him from after school club at 5.30pm and we discussed how he would deal with burglars or zombies in the event of either such emergency. He told me he is an expert on zombies so I now feel safer. Apparently one must destroy the brain or remove the head, although he didn't say to which section this related, but I feel that both would work on zombies AND burglars, with zombies having more brains to worry about than the average burglar.
Anyway..............this evening I heard the sad news that Gerry Rafferty had passed away, along with Mick Karn from Japan. The latter being a bassist who made a bass guitar sound like a lead instrument, especially on Gary Numans album Dance.
Rafferty was just great on the juke box in the pub of a Sunday lunchtime years ago, which made me think of this track that adequately explains my day, and makes me feel better about tomorrow, and the days after.

RIP Mick and Gerry

The way it is

Had my last lie-in today. (Well, until Saturday anyway).

Callum wanted longer than 9am, but then again he was reading until 1am and just would not settle. Little sod!

It was good to see Kizzy and Mel, (my step-daughter and ex mother-in-law), this morning, who visited on the way back to Kizzys’. Apparently, true to all form, my ex wife went out NYE and has not yet returned home, so it’s lucky they have a friend staying otherwise Kizzy would be home alone.
I feel guilty for being thankful that it's not my problem any longer, as for Callums sake and my own sanity I can't get involved.
It feels odd to say step-daughter as I have always thought of Kizzy as my little girl, and I am the only dad she ever had. It is harsh to know that legally, now I have divorced her and Callums mum, that I am nothing. Oh how long THAT story is.
Perhaps one day I will share it if enough insomniacs beg me for a remedy to their malady!

Some things will never change, and never will, and, as Forrest said, (see above), and Bruce sang, (see below)!
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x1tn79_bruce-hornsby-the-way-it-is_music

I am looking forward to getting back to work and seeing some other grown ups, although I will be spending half the week working from home I expect.

I have already started a new year clear out of my wardrobe, partly brought on by weight gain which is a combination of Christmas excess and giving up smoking. I have not smoked for three weeks, although I had planned to stop tomorrow with illness intervening for me. I am quite proud that I seem to have kicked the habit. Callum says it is his best Christmas present, which is all the motivation I need. Having said that it was only 10 a day and I never smoked indoors or in the car or at work so it has not been too difficult.

Again though, I did start at aged 12 or 13 so 35 years man and boy and on and off.

A Chinese takeaway for dinner as a last holiday gesture. Kung Po chicken and rice for me, and sweet and sour chicken and rice for the boy. Then a little TV snuggled with Callum before showers teeth and bed all round and then back to the real world in the morning.

Shelf

Questions and answers

I enjoyed a long lie-in this morning which was very welcome.

Callum has been very restless, and has decided that the best way to distract me from doing absolutely anything today is by constantly hugging me. This, he says, is the best way to distract me from anything, apart from him!

He is bored. (This is typical après Christmas behaviour now that all new toys have been played with at least once.)

In addition to his “distracting hug” tactic, he has added the “awkward and impossible to answer in once sentence” questions.

So far we have had:-

A. If God watches us all the time……………is he is a pervert ‘cause

1. He sees me have a poo?
2. He sees you having sex? (If only)………..(not someone seeing me, just having it)

B Why have we only got one sun/moon?

C Why can’t men have babies?

D Why do men need hair? (He is asking a bald bloke!!)

I am quite proud that not only did I manage to answer all the questions, but that in addition he actually understood that

1. God, if he exists, has better things to do than be omnipresent in toilets and during grown up sex sessions.
2. Referred him to Doctor Who re Moon and Sun question
3. Men don’t have wombs
4. To keep warm when we were cave-men, or latterly to attract the ladies, (which explains why God has no worries regarding dad.), See A(2)

Been a good day overall. Won a bit playing pretend poker on facebook :)

Got the washing done and housework completed, beds changed, paperwork sorted, and ready for the working week. Mundane but satisfying to get it all done.

Callum also randomly announced today that he likes crosswords and I am directed to buy crossword books forthwith. He is also pleased he will see his sister and Nan tomorrow.

Last day off tomorrow before our corner of Earth gets back to normal. It has been an odd Christmas, blighted by illness, and just as we were getting festive it’s over!

So, the year starts tomorrow. Lots to do, places to go and people to see.

Shelf

A good start.

The first part of 2011 has been good.
My wonderful son spent the last hour of 2010, off the cuff and without warning he offloaded, telling me what a good year he had experienced because of me, and telling me how and why I was such a great dad. It was tinged with sadness at hearing how sad he felt about his mum, and how she had ignored him over Christmas, added to his birthday. It is this pain I see in his eyes that I wish I could take away, but know I never will.


I was immensely touched and moved to sit and listen to him.
He is only 8. It was a jaw dropping hour.

We then had a drink each, (a treat of Coke for him and a JD and Coke for me), and toasted each other and 2011 whilst watching Big Ben and the fireworks and for an hour and a half life could not have been better.
I told him that every second I had spent with him since I saw him born was a privilege and an honour and that he was so very special, and that no matter what happens or where life takes us I will always be with him, even if only in 'spirit', and that I was proud to be his dad.

We looked at each other, both misty eyed, and hugged. Just one of those life moments.
So...............today we have played games, watched films, eaten well and had a good day.
The view today in our corner of the world therefore is rosy.

Shelf