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Feeling grateful

Arggh - what a busy weekend, I need a break before I go back to work! Friday was my somewhat dreaded Byte Night sleep out, something I have not been looking forward to. I'd done OK on the sponsorship but it was the thought of sleeping outside in a park in Reading that was filling me with cold shivers, not helped by the knowledge that I'd be bedding down with 11 of my work colleagues! The evening started with food and entertainment in the nearby church. Action for Children were hosting as the sponsoring charity and we hear lots of harrowing stories about why we were fundraising. It certainly brought home just how grim a situation some of these kids find themselves in - forced onto the streets through desperation and home lives that are a million miles away from ours. At 10pm the fun ended and we headed outside, armed with a groundsheet, a hat and a hoody. Reality kicked in as we went into the park to find a spot to bed down on - our only real decision being how far from the street lights could you get without being next to the portaloo. In all honesty it was not a compete replica, after all we had just had a hot meal, had access to a toilet and (the girls anyway) managed to clean our teeth before bed. Regardless of that it felt pretty miserable as the dew came down, our sleeping bags got wetter and wetter and the noise from the streets and traffic encroached on any thoughts of a reasonable night. The ground was hard and I heard every hour being marked off by the church bells. i was bitten on the face a couple of times by some bug and despite trying very hard I could not get to sleep. As I said though, only one night and reinforces how grateful I am for what we have.

The upside was getting home to my warm house, smiling family and a long bath before the next item on the agenda. I'd suggested to Izzy I take her to the St Gabriels open day to get her re-acquainted as she has been the more reluctant of the two of them about the idea of going back there for senior school. I had a bath and some breakfast and she and I set off to be in the first few, with (my) intention of being in and out relatively quickly. We arrived at 9:30 and after a quick hello to the new head set off on the tour. As we went around Izzy was hugged and surrounded at every turn by people she knew, all asking the same thing "Are you coming back?" and "When??"" By the time we settled in for the Head's speech there was a line of class 6ers standing at the door waving at her and blowing kisses. I finally dragged her away just after midday to questions of "Can I start in year 7, why do I need to wait"! I guess that was a success then!

From here it was home for a bit of quiet time (well, half an hour or so) before  doing a round of drop offs for sleep overs, a  frantic dash into town for a 1940-esque red lipstick and then dressing up for our friend's 40s themed 50th birthday party. I had worried that I wouldn't have any energy and I had a banging headache but a couple of day nurse put paid the the pain and gave me the boost I needed. I had already said I would drive so once dinner and the 14 piece big band were through, Glenn made the most of the fact that Simon and his Cure bandmate were teaming up with Simon's son to do 90 mins of amazing cover versions of all manner of hits - it was brilliant. Used to playing stadiums they were loving being on the dance floor and in the crowd as they played, just fantastic.

Needless to say this morning Glenn started well but almost immediately nose dived into hangover hell on the sofa. The weather was a beautiful clear sunny autumn day so I left him there and headed outside to rake leaves and make the most of it - this really is my favourite time of year on a day like today. After various pick ups to collect children we finally managed to all be in the house at the same time by 4pm Sunday afternoon (obviously not in the same room - we are way beyond that it seems!) - just in time for last minute prep, tea and bed. As I said whatever happened to the weekend?!

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