Strong

Yahtzee is big in the dunkyc universe right now. The wee ones and I played it with grandad before bedtime tonight – I forget who won (because it was him).

For the uninitiated, it is essentially poker played with dice and whilst in the main it is a game of luck, there are still decisions to be made over which box to tick off at the right time. As you exhaust the various options, you have no choice but to keep rolling the dice in the hope of hitting the required combination. I mention it as it hit me this evening what a perfect metaphor for life it is. Come what may, the dice have to be rolled.

I’ve been away from the children for the majority of today (I was given shore leave by my parents) as after dropping The Eldest back with her mother who is visiting her southern based parents, I headed over to Hertfordshire to meet with a school chum who I hadn’t seen in 27 years. Whilst that in itself is shocking, more shocking still was that she hadn’t aged a day! At least I’ve had the good grace to lose all my hair and some of my mind, jeez…….

I was totally in awe of her and what she has created, which is a place that breeds, trains and manages horses in the most stunning of surroundings. I know nothing about these magnificent creatures, but I know a little bit more after today as it was impossible not to get caught up in her enthusiasm and passion for something to which she has dedicated her life and for which many sacrifices have been made. The roster of those on my “strongest people I know” list was bolstered by a factor of one today.

More important than this, I got a ride on a quad bike <insert fist pump here> to see some of the other horses and no, in the interests of preserving life, I did not drive it. If I have this correct, the main is called Baloo and is incredibly graceful and elegant – the experts fear that he may have a rare condition which may affect his stability, but my friend sees something in him and to be honest, I wouldn’t bet against her! The extra is a foal called Jolene who was born just two days ago!

Our lovely catch-up was curtailed by parenting needs (hers) and so I set off for home, but found to drop in for a lemonade with another brilliant friend, whereupon Simmo’s prediction finally came true and I burned my head to smithereens having left it too long to retrieve my cap. It was another lovely catch-up with a guest appearance from her lad who is the same age as m’boy. 

We had a good chat before he brought out a couple of pieces of homework he’d received a few “Wow!” stamps for and on taking a look at what he’d produced it was easy to see why he’d quite literally been given the seal of approval. Beautiful handwriting, tone, imagery and some phraseology, which would quite frankly put the majority of adults to shame. Strong genes at work there. **adds another to the list**

I returned home and imparted the gifts given to me to the children with strict instructions to raise their game and give me five chapters of a literary classic by bedtime. They barely looked up from their tablets.

Another cracking holiday day banked.