A Bummer.

Woke at 8 – damm, too early - today of all days I wanted to lie in.

I used to wake never before 11…… but that was a very long time ago indeed……..

Hey, there’s a cat on the corner of the bed, black, soft, sweet….

Foot hurts, bummer…

No messages on the phone, bummer…

Tea?

Yeah….

Climb down, meet more cats, say hello, look in mirror – pff.

Kitchen, hey, what’s this?

Cake, cards, parcels and Clementine slices in a circle around it all.

Yum!

Hmmm, surprises, the kids did that – shall I wake them?

No, let them sleep, kettle, tea, back to bed, write this.

Check emails, no messages, bummer….

Read the newspaper, play a game, look out window…..

Someone’s up, spot daughter’s legs – “hello”

No answer…

Music starts playing – Altered Images, a ritual in this house.

Cat leaves …. son, daughter and babysitee replace.

Happy birthday, thanks, breakfast?

OOOOOH parcels, open them, cards too and flapjacks from the babysitee – but I have to give the tin back.

A shame, nice tin.

Hey – I got a card from the cats!

My niece sent me a bag of rubbish – it’s another ritual.

Contents – rubbish.

Wash up.

Put washing up away.

Babysitte shows me this on youtube, I show her this.

Look out window, it’s raining, cold rain, snow-is-somewhere-else rain.

Make lunch.

Wash up.

Walk through cold rain to car, watch daughter drive to piano lesson.

“hey you look nice”

“yeah I got dressed up for your birthday”

Wow.

She didn’t know it was raining then.

Sit in car outside piano teachers house, write this, take photo of rain splashes in bucket.

Think, is my birthday over?

Drive daughter to dance class, sit in car watch rain, fall asleep…

Walk to bar, wait in corner with hot chocolate, meet old drunk who says – you never look any older.

I say, it’s my birthday, I AM older.

He says, are you staying for a drink, I decline.

Buy pizza from the takeaway, drive home, put pizza in oven, kids planning to go out, think – I’ll sit on sofa, maybe watch…

SURPRISE- door opens, Martin, his wife and a huge pot of curry walk in.

Martin has a new game with him, tells me to take the pizza out of the oven, I do, we eat curry, kids leave, we play.

Martin didn’t let me win.

Bummer.