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Messing around on bikes


It's becoming increasingly obvious that our children are not going to follow the normal course. While their friends got Barbies and mermaid tails (why?!?) for Christmas, ours got their motorbikes and they absolutely love them,. So much so that we now have sulks if there isn't a clear idea of when the next outing will be. Both are alarmingly competent already and happy to ride round on flat ground to practise changing gear and moving up and down through the gears. I'd like to say its a family affair but they head off into the distance (so far mostly into a misty murk which is quite disconcerting as you almost immediately lose sight of them) with us running after them through long rough grass wishing we'd worn more sensible clothes. Running in wellies is not a thing for a very good reason!


This also means of course that Glenn is kept very happy as he now has 2 more bikes to his 'stable' to fettle with, buy stickers for and generally keep occupied with. Abi's bike was purchased from the friend Izzy initially rode with, and he's already changed the carb and done some other stuff (I'm clearly out of my depth here) in order for it to run better. I'm pretty sure we had a whole discussion about the bikes not running too well - I'm still worried they will pile into the nearest hedge at breakneck speed - but this seems to have been conveniently forgotten.


Given we can't go motor biking every day, the holidays are stretching a bit thin now and it is definitely time for them to go back to school. No child needs this long off in the winter - the iPads are getting far more use than is appropriate and the kids are morphing into a routine of not getting dressed until 10am and still being awake at 9pm. Not good for anyone! It does worry me of course that this is what we have to look forward to - there must be a point when you give up worrying about it but for the moment I'm finding their willingness to slob about all day in a onesie with a variety of electrical gadgets to keep them company very frustrating! Having said this I think I have a number of friends (and possibly relatives?!?) who think this is a perfectly feasible way to spend a day... just not me.


While they were all contemplating whether they might get dressed this morning I went for a lovely, if very wet, 10k run. I've set myself a goal of getting my mileage back up slowly and trying to do some longer off road runs in due course. The idea is to build slowly and give my leg a chance to get used to it this time, rather than last time where I went a bit too fast for these old(er) bones and had to give up. I so much prefer running off road and don't care in the slightest about getting muddy. Ive taken Bertie a few times who also thoroughly approves and thinks nothing of adding a few more miles to his 2 walks a day. He'd go every day if he could. Izzy also informed me this afternoon that she plans on starting to run so that she can be in the school cross country team. I don't know whether this is for real or in her imagination - we'll see!


She made us both laugh yesterday when after an impromptu trip to see Simon & Audrey in their new flat in Cheltenham I came home and suggested to Glenn that we go together to have a mooch around the shops and do a bit of window shopping. Izzy's immediate response to this was "Mummy! We don't need any more windows!!" I'd forgotten how much I loved her Izzyisms!


So one more day of holidays and then back to school - not a moment too soon for all of us!



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