Victory was inevitable....

About ten days ago I challenged the girls to a 'lockdown' game of Monopoly. It was a good way of spending time with them and also greatly appealed to my competitive nature. After all, we still have quite a bit of time on our hands. Mrs Hammond, injured and semi dying with her knee on the couch, politely declined to take part. The initial phase of the game lasted a couple of days and I slowly got the opportunity and positioned myself, picking off Anna in a fit of anger and a massive and famous Monopoly strop! Within another day I had Lucy on the ropes and for the next the eight days, she declined to carry on. This evening she finally accepted the inevitable conclusion and conceded defeat, claiming unconvincingly that she hated the game anyway! 😆 I retain an my undefeated crown in playing the kids at this strategic game and I have no intention of giving this up or going easy on them, for as long as I live! Father's day was lovely with us hitting the beach for some fossil hunting and a first family trip out together for months. Lucy did give me teenage permission for one photo with her on this day and then avoided it like the plague! The virus is still out there so we remain very cautious and are still not allowing the children freedom yet, despite some restrictions being lifted. One day at a time. Two more sleeps to go until a certain young lady is twelve. Where did that time go!!? 😲

The time of Chocdown!!

Poor Amy has knackered her knee and ripped the cartilage. She is in a great deal of pain and discomfort. Oddly, we have no idea how she did it! She could have broken medical history and this be the first box set watching, chocolate eating injury ever recorded. Medical professionals could study this for years to come and we may never know despite the involvement of all their expertise and skill!!! Chocdown as its now called continues to slightly ease and in celebration of this we invited Granny and Grandpa for a socially distancing barbecue. The discussion moved onto how Sylvia (nana) used to clip me with her walking stick to gain my attention. The presence of Amy's crutches gave me an idea😆Revenge is surely a dish best served sweet or in this case at a safe distance. I was tempted as they were the right length for a safe coronavirus two meter safe swipe at Grandpa's ankles! Only kidding, but it was quite funny. It was lovely to have something a bit more normal, a social event and relax in the midst of all this panic, stress and building paranoia. Who would have ever thought that having guests to one's house would carry such importance and meaning in relation to what is going on around us! The girls are good and continue to do well. We started a game of monopoly last night, so this could get messy in the coming days.....

A safe place...

As we continue to live in these strange times, all being it in a slightly reduced state of lockdown conditions, family life is not what it should be with each of us quietly getting on with keeping ourselves busy and simply getting through the day. We are all longing for normal life to return, but this is a long way off, probably months, with infections still in the country and in recent days on the rise again. Home has become a place we would want to escape from having lost many freedoms, and yet a real place of safety and calm. We are all leading slightly separate lives. Amy and I working and still going out. The girls schooling at home, messaging friends and almost in a weekend state every day. We do catch up at various intervals during the day, but this feels a bit fragmented. I am worried about the effect this is having on us all. I keep myself busy gardening, dog walking, a newly found love of nature and doing 'jobs'. For Amy and the girls they relax, watch television, gaming in Anna's case and watching crime documentaries for Lucy (a new interest which intrigues me as to what interests her within this emerging passion). This is not my cup of tea and never has been. I can't sit still and hours will go by when I do not interact with my family. I expect this to a certain degree with near or actual teenagers in the house, but I can see lockdown compounding this. Amy and I having to discuss challenges and issues such as when do we risk sending the kids back to school. There is no respite from the monotony and the worry. With the weather changing to wet and miserable this week. I would love for us to simply go out together for the day as a family and do something we love and go for a meal out together. It will come I know, but is some months off yet. In the meantime, home is a double edged sword and the safety side fills me with reassurance in keeping my girls safe. The longer this goes on though, the harder it will be to make a new normal and stop the insular family life that is emerging....