I've Been to Places in this town...

Quite where we got Tooli I will never know.

She was a quiet baby, content if occupied. By occupied, I could arrange her on the floor surrounded by pillows, and give her a copy of the Economist, or Time magazine and I could sleep for 2 hours. I liked to give her quality reading material.

She fed, and she slept and she smiled her toothless grin at everyone who stuck their head in her pram. When she wanted something, she grunted, and Boy, understood and would fetch. She was so little work, she was a joy.

She was very quiet, but always happy. She was two before she really started saying things. "TWEEE TUNNEL", was one of the first statements I heard, even today, when I drive past that Tree Tunnel, whether there are trees or not, I still shout "Twee Tunnel".

At school the diligence appeared. She did her homework, every night. She read. She read other books. She created more homework for herself. If a teacher gave someone hints on how to improve, she took those tips on board.

At secondary school her love of sport appeared. It started with Volleyball, which was obvious being that her brother was Volleyball daft. Then Hockey reared it's head. On a normal week, every day is full to brimming with school, sport and homework. Beloved and my weeks revolve around where she needs to be. And it isn't a chore.

This picture is Tooli out on one of her daily runs! Yes. As well as School, Homework, sport; she runs too. She is desperately trying to avoid our attention as we sit at the traffic lights waving furiously at her. I like to shout to her, I'm sure she hears despite the earphones!

Because of her hard work, her effort, and her smiley face, I want to strive to be a better person. So yesterday morning, and this morning, I dragged myself out of bed into the "fitness room" (Sorry Steve), and did 5 minutes on the Bike! Yes, I know, 5 minutes isn't much, but it's a start, and today, I cycled 0.25 km further than yesterday!

Maybe in about 8 weeks time - I'll do a blip with me at the side of the road beside Tooli getting ready to jog up the road.

Fingers Crossed!