A Hard Lesson to Learn

The response from my eldest munchkin. "Mum I hate it, it doesn't suit you!"

The response from my youngest munchkin. "Wow Mum, you have mermaid hair!"

And the best response from a stranger in the street - "Did you have a fight with a Slush Puppie machine?"

With a million other comments in between. Who would have thought striking another thing off my buckets list would elicit such wonderful conversations with such a wide variety of people.

When I was younger I spent a good proportion of my time conflicted between trying to express myself and trying to fit in. Eventually fitting in won out, growing up seemed more important somehow than frivolous things like dying my hair a strange colour or an extra ear piercing.

Now I'm a little older and a lot more confident (though that isn't hard and I'm still not all that confident) I have come to realise there is becoming an adult, that part is inevitable, but one does not ever have to grow up! Why shouldn't I dye my hair, no matter how old I am? Call it a mid-life crisis if you like, though I personally am saving that until I'm 40 and then I can go riding a motorbike. No it wasn't for a bet. I just want to live my life with no regrets.

I've had a few conversations where people have told me, 'I wish I had your guts.' My reply to them is just go for it, it's worth it. However the best conversation my wild hair do has sparked has been with my eldest munchkin. It has been a great way to tackle the whole concept of acceptance with her. She may not like what I have done, but then she doesn't have to...I did it for me and no one else. At nine she has barely started to push the boundaries with us as parents. My mother thinks she is beyond shocking but in truth I haven't ever pushed that hard either. But I explained to my little munchkin, who I am steadfastly denying will be hitting a decade in this world next month, that at some point she will want to express herself. And when that time comes I will support her in anyway I can....within reason (hey I'm not completely stupid as a parent!)

If there is one thing that comes from this item being crossed off my bucket list, I hope it is that my kids confidently chose to be themselves in whatever they do as they get older...but never grow up completely!

(If you can't beat 'em join 'em heh?)

The only question remaining, what colour next?

Good Morning Campers

If you told me a year ago the I would be sleeping on an air bed, a sheet of plastic between me and the outdoor world and a hike to the loos, I would have laughed hysterically!! If you told me I would really enjoy it, I would have had you committed!

During the course of the last year I have surrendered the tight hold I have on 5 star hotels and en-suit bathrooms, as a direct result of pester power! Come on parents, you know what I am talking about!! They wore me down.

In the UK we have two bank holiday's in May; one at the beginning and one at the end, giving us two nice long weekends. The first bank holiday saw us borrow a tent, pack off to a site all of 20 minutes away (just in case it was horrific) all to see if I could hack it!! Guess what, I loved it...we all did, the only thing we wanted to change....a bigger tent. That weekend, the rule was NOBODY ROLL OVER!!!!

This weekend we set off for the second time, our own bigger tent packed up, on our way to the seaside! We pitched in the wind, it was actually quite fun and set up our camp....or maybe we landed. Our tent is huge, although saying that there were others of similar girth by the end of the day, which at least limited the embarrassment I first felt when we put it up!

There is one thing I don't think I will get used to....tent envy! The amount of people that stopped by the tent over the three days we were there, just to ask about the tent and admire it....here's a thought, I wonder if I could charge for tours?!?!

Marcus Humongo Maximums (as named by the Happy Campers)

My favourite part of both trips and a must for every camping trip....toasted marshmallows and warm milky coffees. All we need to do is find a site where we can build a proper campfire!!

One thing checked off the bucket list, some wonderful memories made and looking forward to the next trip.


I'll leave you with this, from the new 30 Seconds to Mars album.....because my other half still knows that music makes me smile!!

What have you guys been up to while I have been AWOL? Any ambitions ticked off your bucket lists??

Before I Kick the Bucket

Sometime ago Larissa at Papa is a Preacher discussed the concept of Buckets lists, or at least my mush of a brain seems to recall commenting on something vaguely along those lines before and of course can I find the post....nope!!

Any way, fragments of this along with the last few weeks have had me re-evaluating the concept of a bucket list. I have always had ambitions, a wish list of things I wanted to do....at some point. The concept of a bucket list, however, always seemed a bit morbid to me. But as I eluded to in my last post I have been converted to the advantages of bucket list.

So last week I began by choosing the perfect notebook from my considerable stash (come on admit it we all have a stack of notebooks waiting for that perfect project....don't we?) And I started to note down the memories I want to make; mostly with my girls, some are just for me and others to make with other half or friends. I have to admit the list has started to get a little long, already!

So far I have 20 items on the list, ranging from 'visit a pick your own fruit farm with the girls' to 'attend a masquerade ball' via 'keep a daily journal'. I have been adding items almost daily and have even managed to tick a few off. So in one of my brain waves I have decided to add another page to my blog to keep a track of how my bucket list is shaping up. Click here to see what is on there, you can even help me fulfil one or two if you like, I have a feeling I am going to be a very busy bunny, I may need the help!!

Don't run out of time, make every second count! A philosophy to live life by. Have you ticked anything off your list lately?