My 60th - Halloween - and a Tearful Me

Wow, I just don't know where to start.

Today is my 60th birthday and last night was Halloween. I was born at 20 minutes past midnight on the night the Witches and the Dead were roaming freely.

Being my 60th and having reached this special mark in my life I have thought over the last weeks that perhaps it should be celebrated in a special way but couldn't come up with anything I particularly wanted to do. Last year, being the first time in years that once again virtually the whole family were living in the same town, we all went out for an expensive dinner for my birthday. For me that was not only celebrating my birthday but also celebrating us all being together once again. I didn't feel the need for a big fuss this year. But last night I was in for a big surprise.

Being Halloween we planned to take my youngest GG, Jess, and one of her friends to the village where my Niece and Sister live for them to go trick or treating. While the elder kids, such as Aimee took them around the streets us adults would stay indoors in the warm drinking tea and chatting.

Sarah picked me up from home at 6pm to drive over to our Beverley's. She had already dropped the girls off over there. Going in via the back way Beverley had made a real effort decorating her back garden for Halloween with pretty lights and lanterns and the odd ghost or two. I was later on to see the lit up grave in the front garden with the bones of a skeleton fighting it's way to the top of the earth. On entering the door via the kitchen I could see that Beverley had created a dark, creepy atmosphere in the house. You have to remember that over here in England we don't go overboard with the celebrating of Halloween. It has only been in the last few years that our children have even started trick or treating.

On entering the lounge is where I was in for a surprise. The whole room was decorated to the nines for Halloween, including paper chains and balloons along with a full size Angel of Death hanging from the ceiling and all the other gruesome displays that go with the night of the dead. The centre of the room was full of people standing in candlelight, glasses in hand to wish me a Happy Birthday, including a friend that I hadn't seen for many years and my Nephews girl friend who had come all the way from Croydon to be there instead of Gary driving up to her for the weekend as he normally would. A massive table of food and drinks. I was in for a full blown party.

But there was something else that was to happen that actually brought tears to my eyes, and I can tell you I do not cry easily.

At a point in the evening Sarah brought out a birthday cake. It had thick chocolate icing (my favourite) and a large 6 and an 0 candles. But it was the top of the cake that really shook me. The icing on the top was a photograph of me when I was 6 years old. I hadn't seen that photo for many, many years. The obvious place they could have gotten it from was my eldest sister.

I know that icing can be made from photos so it wasn't that that made me tearful. It was just the most surrealist moment of my life. Seeing that tiny girl smiling up at me along with the 60 of the candles at the head of the photo just didn't seem real. That, along with all the time and trouble those girls must have put in to do all this for me made me have trouble keeping back the tears. Wow.

Some of the pressies I also got were totally unexpected as well. Our family more or less give token gifts for birthdays for the adults, a bunch of flowers, a box of chocs etc. But I was given, A DVD player, A cashmere stole, A cashmere throw, a set of 8 Steven Seagal films ( I love his films), and from my Niece I couldn't believe the ring that she gave me. Gold with a cluster of 4 diamonds, 2 rubies, 2 emeralds and 1 Sapphires. Oh and I did get me bunch O' flowers and me box O' chocs, lol.

The whole evening was wonderful. The kids still went out for an hour or so trick or treating and we still had kids knocking at the door demanding their treats. The atmosphere was fantastic. What a wonderful way to celebrate my 60th.

On arriving back at Sarah's with the girls later that evening Sarah also had something else for me that had me laughing. She had got together a group of things, as she said, that every 60 year old needs to take with them into their old age.

It was an old fashioned straw basket such as our Grans would have had and in it was...........

A "Now We are 60" book - This is a rip off of the poems of A.A. Milnes "Now We are Six"
Two wind up racing Grannies with their zimma frames (must have a race with those with my little Jess later today)
An exercise video to keep one from getting incontinent as one gets older
A "Where's Wally" hat to keep the old girl warm indoors in the cold evenings
A pair of slippers
But the funniest thing was a half dozen marbles running around the bottom of the bag (for when I lose mine)

The Day After Tomorrow

Wow, the time has almost arrived for me to be an O.A.P. I officially become a Crone on Saturday, lol.

I've done the years of growing up, lacking confidence, thinking everyone older than me is more knowledgeable and wiser. I've done the years of bringing up a child where ones life isn't ones own and everyone has to be put before ones self. I've done the years of getting up early every morning and doing a dash around to get to work on time and coming home shattered only to have to start work again as home. Now is my time. A time for me alone.

I know for a while now my life has been virtually my own, whereby I can eat when I want, sleep when I want and generally come and go as I please, but on Saturday, it's official and along with that comes all the perks of being officially retired.

Don't get me wrong. I have not been wishing my life away to lead me to this moment. I am just aware that it comes to us all and I think that approaching this time of life with excitement rather than with dread is a much more healthy attitude. There is no point moping about what has passed, or regrets for the things undone. The best way is to take the bull by the horns and just enjoy what this new stage in life has to offer. As long as I enjoy each and every day from now on I will have nothing to complain about.

Making Friends

Well, I'm making a good start on rule 6 of "Things to do now that you're retired", Making friends.

In actual fact I am killing two birds with one stone, or maybe even three when one comes to think of it.

Getting out and about
Learning a new language
Making friends

For many years now my family have been my sole companionship. I haven't had friends for absolutely yonks. By taking up learning British Sign Language I am getting out one evening a week, learning a new language and also making friends.

The friendships started coming into it's own this week. Having had four lessons now, one of the women organised a practice evening for several of us for tonight at her house before our fifth lesson tomorrow evening.

It was very enjoyable. Not only are we, hopefully, going to learn a lot quicker but we are also going to get to know each other better, which is great as we will be spending the next year together in the same class and for those of us that go on to stage two will also be together the following year.

My Daughter, who you will know, if you have been keeping up with my blog, is also learning BSL, voluteered me to hold the next practice evening at mine, (don't you just love daughers).

That should be fun getting everyone in my caravan.

Now I'm just looking forward to my tomorrow's lesson.

Maybe Getting a New Cycle

I'm not sure yet whether to spend money on a new cycle.

I have my electric tricycle but I only use that for toodling back and forth visiting the family and for shopping. When visiting the family it's so easy just to put my little dog in his basket on the back and he can come everywhere with me. For shopping it means that I can fill up the dog's basket, the basket on the front and if I am going to get quite a bit with an extra napsack on my back I can carry a full weeks shopping.

The downside is that charging it is a pain in the rear as I have nowhere to charge it under cover which means that the weather always has to be dry for the charging time. Being as how here in the UK we get a lot of rain it's a pain dodging in and out to get a full charge up and sometimes it isn't possible so I have to then make a phone call to either my Daughter or Niece to come over and get me.

There are times when I have just wanted to make a quick trip into town to pick something up, the library or a bank run and have no charge in the battery. So I am now wondering if I should treat myself to a two wheeler for those quick trips out to those places where I can nip out without the dog.

A couple of others in the family have said that it would be fun for us all to go on bike rides in the lovely country we have and my tricycle isn't really suitable for that either.

Now my problem is that I am shocking for thinking something is a good idea, buying it, then having wasted my money because I don't use it more than once in a blue moon.

My question to me is, will I use a second bike or will it sit around doing nothing for the forseable future??

19 Days Until I Retire

Only 19 short days until I officially retire, so a little update.

So far I haven't really done a lot towards changing my life, changing bad habits and setting a general healthy trend to take me into my new life as it should be.

One of the things I promised myself was that I would no longer be a smoker on my Birthday. To tell the truth I'm not sure if I would say I am still a smoker or not. I am still smoking the E/Cigarette which is simply a nicotine replacement but surely if I am not actually smoking cigarettes then I am a good way into keeping my promise to myself.

I am now into my 4th week of British Sign Language which I am very much enjoying. I like the challenge of learning something new after all this time, I like the people I am sharing the class with and I also very much enjoy getting out one evening a week to somewhere different.

I haven't done anything towards regular exercise. I did start going swimming every other day in the pool on the site here but that didn't last long and I can't see myself wandering down to the pool in the mornings now the winter is on its way. I am sure not making more use of the pool is going to be something I regret when I move out of this caravan and into a house, which I know at some point I will.

The Wiifit still sits idly by and I haven't touched it for months now. Perhaps that is something that is going to prove a waste of money.

My cycle I rode over to Sarah's on the other day and parked it up in her garage as I know I wont be using that in the winter. I didn't use it last winter so I am sure I wont this.

Basically I am still sitting far too much on the comp when I am not out and about with Sarah. This really must stop.

Regarding my pension - When I claimed it the other week, via telephone, I was told a letter would be sent sometime this month, and before my retirement day, confirming how much my pension would be. I haven't received a letter up to this point.

A Great 3rd Sign Language Lesson

My head was actually swimming tonight with the amount of information we were fed. We have our first video taped exam in 3 weeks and there is so much to learn yet.

Although I am finding it really hard now, I am very much enjoying it. The chap that is teaching us is a fantastic teacher and makes all of us feel very relaxed at having to sign to each other and at the same time making the specific NMF (basically pulling faces) to go with the actual sign.

Apart from one class mate who has already been through the first year course about 5 years ago, I do feel I am keeping up with the majority and there are 2 or 3 that simply just can't seem to get the hang of most of it, (poor sods). I do have the feeling that there is one woman that will be dropping out of it either next week or if she does come next week wont be coming the following. She really is desperately struggling with it and doesn't look as if she is enjoying it at all. I do wonder though, at some of them, if they do actually practice from one week to the next.

Learning and remembering each sign isn't too bad. It's the putting them all together into a comprehensive phrase and getting all the words in the right order. Speaking the word and signing at the same time just doesn't work because as I have mentioned before, the sentences are back to front, as they are with most other languages. The trouble is it's so much of part of us to speak out loud it's hard to remember not to say the words at the same time as signing. Instead of speaking with the sign one has to learn to pull the correct face that helps give the sign it's meaning. More than one word can have the same sign but the face pulling makes the sign make sense in the form one is meaning it for.

All in all tonight was another very enjoyable lesson.

Quitting Spanish

Funnily enough, although I am not enjoying the lessons it wasn't me that suggested quitting.

The next lesson would be tomorrow afternoon and my Sarah said to me this morning, "Do I really want to continue the lessons", I told her the truth that I wasn't enjoying them but I would continue to go as long as she wanted to and needed the company.

She explained that because so much happens on a Wednesday for her it is so much of a rush around to get through the day and she really wants to continue with the Sign Language course as she intends to do the full 3 years of that to get her qualifications. On top of that she has now just started an Open University course which adds to any homework. So we are quitting. We will let the school know directly so they can give our places to someone else that might be queuing for it.

My pet hate with it was, 1) the fact that it was an afternoon lesson which messes up the day and then it's a quick whip home, sort the dog and the kids out and then off to Sign Language. 2) I also didn't like the way we were being taught. Being as how the tutor has only taught children before some of the things she gets us to do are pretty embarrassing as adults. See my previous posts on Spanish.

I am very relieved that Sarah has decided to quit as I would never have suggested it but would have suffered the lesson each week.

2nd Week of Classes

I was not looking forward to my 2nd Spanish class this Wednesday just gone. The B.S.L. I was looking forward to but funnily enough it turned out that this week Spanish was fun and the sign language much harder than last week.

I honestly don't know if I will end up sticking at the Spanish, although I will give it my best shot, because if I drop out then it would mean my Daughter having to go on her own and that wouldn't be nice for her. So I will persevere but at the same time take one week at a time and see how it goes.

Mind you, to tell the truth I have no idea why I am putting myself through learning Spanish as I have no intention of going anywhere they actually speak it. I am not a good traveler. I wont fly, and although I will go on a boat, and have done many times in the past, I don't like it. So basically I am probably wasting my time learning the language anyway, but, hey ho at least it's keeping my brain active, stopping me from stagnating and also is forcing me away from the comp for a couple of hours.

Regarding the sign language, this, I think, is going to be much harder than I first thought as not only does one have to learn the signs but also the whole language is said backwards. How are you becomes - Body feels good, yes?? - Do you have a car is - Car have you, yes?? and so on. Learning the arse about face of it all is harder than remembering the signs. But it is good fun and there are some really nice people in the class.