*Everyone* in the house slept in this morning. I suspect Dad has got the cold we brought home from camp although he’s pretending he doesn’t.
We gathered up all dirty washing and headed off to the laundrette where we managed to park quite close and bunged it in washing machines (two smaller ones, the big one was already being used) and walked into Lancing. Dad had asked us to pick up an anniversary card for him to give Mum (I know, nothing like heartfelt!) as he’d tried to find one this morning with ‘wife on Ruby anniversary’ and not managed it. We couldn’t find one either and Davies was really keen to spend some of his money on a 3DS game (money so burns a hole in his pocket, the complete opposite of Scarlett who hoards her cash for as long as possible) so we decided to get the washing dry and head into town. We picked up something to eat from the bakery and walked back to the laundrette to bung the washing in the drier.
Town was fairly busy and we eventually found a parking space on a meter and just put in and hour or so as we didn’t need much. We got the card for Dad in the second shop we tried and failed to find the game Davies wanted any cheaper than Argos was selling it so reserved one in the branch across the road from Mum & Dad to pick up on the way home. While Ady and Davies were checking out the games stores Scarlett and I nipped along to the shoe shop to get her some new wellies. Scarlett *hates* clothes and shoe shopping and was stroppy with me in the first shop but after a bit of a chat she was positively sunshiney in the second and we got her a new pair of wellies and nearly a pair of boots too when she spotted a pair she liked. They didn’t have her size which was a shame as I don’t remember the last time she actually like something in a shop. I can’t quite believe she’ll ever become a fashion conscious teen after the lastest styles but I guess something will kick in at some point and she will.
We decided we just had time to nip along to a charity shop in the arcade before we needed to get back to the car and on the way back walked through Wilkinsons and bumped into Caz and Bid, Archie and Eliot :). We’ve been texting over the last week and made tentative arrangements for next week but it was fab to see them in person and exhange hugs, have a super quick catch up on each others news and firm up arrangements to meet at the beach next weekend. We then realised we’d been chatting far too long and our parking ticket would be up so Ady ran ahead to get back to the car. We were nearly 10 minutes late but fortunately hadn’t been spotted – phew!
We came home via Argos for Davies’ reserved game and Ady made dinner before he and Dad went off out. Mum and I actually had quite a nice evening chatting, knitting, drinking wine and we both had a bath. I told her to try and remember all the things she actually loves about Dad rather than focussing on the things she doesn’t and got her talking about the first time she’d ever met him and the things about him she’d fallen in love with. For all his moaning about her my Dad does still defend her and sing her praises for her good points whereas I don’t remember the last time I ever heard her say anthing nice or positive about him. Her face totally altered from her usual set hard grim expression as she described this tall handsome man sitting at the bar in a casino on a winning streak. I told her how she had looked happy and misty eyed and that was what she should be doing – listing all the good things about him rather than dwelling on the things she can’t change but is still trying to 40 odd years on. Who knows if it will help. I ranted at her about Frazer last week and told her to start trying to talk to him and rebuild a relationship there and she keeps whispering to me that she has managed a conversation with him every few days so maybe she will listen and it will make a difference. It would be nice to think we manage to be a good influence while we’re here rather than a bloody nusiance! 😉