PROUD MOTHER MOMENT

My fourteen year old son had his first refereeing job this morning before his football match. I was so proud of him! He looked so huge compared to the under 9 team he was refereeing. He’s only five years older than those other boys – how can that be? It was only three minutes ago I was watching him play football at that age. He had to deal with several injuries, a lot of shouty parents (although thankfully they’re shouting at their own poor children to play better – which seemed to me to take all the fun out of it for them and not at the ref) and a football boot that went flying off. It was his weekend with his father so I turned up on my own – luckily his father was there giving him back up support from the side about when to blow the whistle (more importantly how hard to blow the whistle) and how to point decisively and so on. He did a very good job AND he got paid for it. Win win.

So why do I find it so funny that this morning, he seems to have gone to the opposite end of the sporting spectrum and is in a netball tournament at school this afternoon. NETBALL? Really? Apparently he’s doing it all term as the only boy who forgot to get his form in fast enough to be able to go to the gym with the other boys instead. He’s loving it though. Good way to meet a few girls and he’s nearly as tall as the nets so quite a useful goal shooter I imagine. Such a shame I’m working – would have loved to go and see that game.

I’ve had my little niece’s third birthday party this week which was lovely – I brought over my rather soggy helium balloons that have look about the same as me post birthday celebrations, a little sad and wrinkly to say the least (I figured that as she can’t quite read the writing yet she’d be delighted with yet more balloons, whoever they were to):-

So what else has been happening this week? Work, not much else….I’ve been trying to avoid Christmas music and lights and stuff – not feeling remotely Christmassy yet and I’ve decided I’m definitely not buying a cut Christmas tree this year – call me Scrooge, but I HATE the fact that trees get cut down for our celebration and can’t bear the sight of all the carcasses strewn around the road a week after Christmas. So instead I’m going to buy a different sort of tree in a pot that I can keep in my house. Maybe with lemons on so that I can pretend I’m somewhere hot – or I can use to fuel my gin and tonics.

My son ate all his advent calendar chocolates in one go. I am not happy about this, but then again, I don’t know what that chocolate calendar is all about anyway apart from mass consumerism. As a non believer, there was little point in talking him through the reasoning behind the build up, so I really had nothing to say on the matter:-

Then yesterday, as I was eating some grapes, this little one appeared – a veritable grape snowman – perhaps a sign?

A drink with my brother last night at a pub that was sporting a sign that makes no sense, but I liked it and it did make me feel a teeny bit festive:-

And then this little guy, dropped on my doorstep today – thanks Disney! I really must watch Frozen – I have nothing to talk to my niece about until I do. She has the plait, the dress, the songs, the video – having older children means I’ve missed it so far! I didn’t even know he was called Olaf!

Have a good week!