Shiney, Happy - Part Deux

OK, so where was I? Oh yes, the second five things that make me happy, courtesy of Smitten by Britain.

Hmmmm. I can't be that miserable surely. Think, think, think.

6. Friends. - I'm proud to say that I'm brilliant at keeping up with people. Even before t'Internet I would write long, long letters. Even before I moved thousands of miles away from most of my friends I was a letter writer. God knows what people thought when they opened the envelope to find three whole sides of tiny little writing. Good job it was semi-amusing. And now, with FB I'm in almost daily contact with a few friends in Australia, loads in the UK and several here. I love it. I usually come back from my annual UK visit absolutely knackered because I'll have spent most of the time travelling round the country visiting friends. Good times.

7. Dancing. - Not that I do it much these days, but I danced all the time (ballet, tap and modern) till I was 18. I have even taken some adult ballet classes since then, but it's really hard work and nowadays I prefer to fling myself around randomly. Whenever we go to parties with a DJ (that would be rarely) I'm up on the floor more than I'm sitting at the table. A few months ago we went to one such party with the teenagers and the Man-child was furious with me. (The Queenager was dancing right there with me.) Apparently I had had a pretty cool image at school until that very moment. Who cares whether a bunch of spotty fourteen year olds thought I was cool? I was having a great time. Oh and wait till you see me on a hard wood floor after two glasses of Pinot Grigio - RiverDance eat your heart out!

8. My kids. Don't worry - I'm not going to go all gushy and setimental on you, but my three kids make me laugh. So far, there haven't been too many dramas (other than broken bones and cracked toenails - this week.) and I'm crossing my fingers that it stays that way. They're three very different kids, independent, confident and healthy. Dinner times are quite loud as we all talk about what we did or what we learned that day, but it's great that we still manage to sit down together nearly every night. And - they don't complain as much about what they're eating when they're too busy talking. (Wink)

9. My other kids. I've finally managed to set up a charitable foundation here (talk about a lot of paperwork and waiting around). It helps fund a wonderful private school in rural Ghana and is the most rewarding thing I've done in a long time. The kids probably wouldn't have the opportunity to go to school if this one wasn't available to them so I do what I do. (Don't worry, I'm not asking you for money.) Take a look at this video  if you want to be uplifted and feel good. (I promise, I'm not asking for money. I'm not even in it). It's an amazing story.  http://www.goodtube.org/video.php?search=tuskegee

10. Possibilities - it's great having a teen who's thinking about college. Well, it gets a bit angst-y sometimes I'll admit. But the whole idea of her venturing out and forging a career is so exciting. I just hope I can keep my mouth shut if she decides on something I don't quite agree on. What am I saying? She's already signed up for three classes in her final year that I wouldn't have touched with a barge pole had it been me. I think my first mistake was telling her I wasn't going to "force" her to do anything. Apparently some parents actually insist on their kids taking certain classes or applying to certain colleges. Oh well, each to his/her own.

And given that I had a surprise baby, published a book, started a charity and began blogging all in my 40's, well who knows what my horizons are. Best not to try to guess really.