Bright bright sunshiney day

Oooh today was lovely - it featured many of the things that make up a lovely day - mates, trains, sunshine, fun and achievement. And tea.

Finished work at 4am last night, determined to get it all out of the way so that I could wake up to a Friday when all I would need to do would be a quick proofread and hit 'Send', before going over to Nic's for the afternoon.
Slept in till gone 10, which wasn't really part of the plan but was probably a good thing. Then sat with giant mug of tea, proofreading and catching up here and there, delivered my work and off we went.

Lovely journey - 20 min walk to station, 2 trains and a bus all filled with sunshine and chat and laughs. We talked about when people die, people choosing burial or 'burning' and F has decided burying is the way to go (this may not sound as cheery as it was). Also on the agenda were: train etiquette (when to sit with other people, when not to, why not to grab their seat if you see them go to the loo), 24 hour clock vs. 12 hour clock and lots of other stuff that I can't really categorize easily - e.g. playing a game where you pat the other person and say 'Good Mummy/F, Good Mummy/F, etc. several times then wave your arms and change it to SuperMummy! or SuperF! It all made sense at the time, honest.

At Lancing, F made me go over the level crossing while she went over the bridge (and 'signalled' to me when the train had gone and the barriers were about to be raised), the Pulse bus came almost immediately - that bus has really improved that journey for us, we used to always have the 20 or 30 minute walk after the second train, but the buses are really regular and only take 5 mins. Suspect I have gone on about this before so I'll stop there as I am sounding busnerdish! Nice rasta guy driving it too. Wish there was a bus this end from our area to station like that.

At Nic's the children played almost without any hoo-ha whatsoever, only very minimal moments of adult intervention being required, which meant that we were able to chat loads. I talked through my current feelings about overwork and stuff and how I'm planning to deal with it, which was helpful. F was in XBox mood really, so once that was underway she was happy just playing games with D and they seemed to be pretty harmonious. Earlier she had admired some of S's prezzies - a fine haul this year - and spent a bit of girlie time in S's room. Still having trouble believing S can be 5 - it's just all wrong! Nic and I hung out in the kitchen a bit as she was in Festive Muffin mode and had biscuits to ice. I had a huge bowl of pasta for lunch, which was fab as I hadn't really managed any breakfast for me. Nic very kindly gave us a lift straight over to Lewes Leisure Centre for Little Ninjas and we got there with just enough time for F to get into her uniform.

At Little Ninjas, she concentrated really hard again and tried everything and I sat kind of beaming with pride really and occasionally encouraging her with a (whispered) 'well done' from the parental benches when she persevered at things that were hard for her - particularly doing bunny hops (jumps with feet together). The people doing the classes all know her medical history and seem nicely able to make allowances whilst still expecting the best of her and she is thriving on it.
Some things they do every session: a bit of circuit training, a warm-up routine with lots of stretching. Then there are games that involve concentrating and using the basic stances and moves of karate. F is really enjoying it at the moment and even answered a question today (put her hand up and everything!). As I say, I just sat beaming with pride and pleasure most of the time, to see her enjoying it and doing so well.

We walked home, both very glad that it was not raining. It was chilly but once we got going we were fine. I complimented F on her concentrating and listening and trying and stuff and she said 'I remember when I didn't used to listen' as if it was years ago, instead of last month. I think, when she is on her best form she does great with it, but things like colds, other bugs, growth spurts and tiredness can very easily knock her for six - then the question is always whether to take her anyway or to miss the sessions, which might make it harder to understand next time. I hope it continues like this, she is doing so well and really feeling pleased with what she is doing and enjoying it.

Back home, J is making pizzas and I have started on my wine. Plans for the weekend include: no work till Sunday evening for me, putting together 2 IKEA storage benches (Norrebo), getting Xmas tree and decs down from loft, pub lunch on Sunday with old mates in Brighton. Should be nice.