I want to live vicariously through you tell me about the great stuff in your life

[Bigiciuincailin]

My life is complicated but I have 3 amazing children and most of the time an amazing husband. However our families are incredibly dysfunctional and cause a lot of headaches as they currently are doing.

Let me cheer myself up by living vicariously through you. Tell me the great stuff in your life.

Love these

What a lovely thread! I'm really enjoying reading how the simple things in life make people happy, really inspiring to read the people travelling, going to gigs, retreats and so on.

Not me, DD. She went to University during the Covid years. She only spent the first term on campus before the second lock down kept her home. She struggled with no contact and, after 2 years, she failed and I convinced her to drop out. (I failed my first year at university so I see now shame in doing this). To her credit, and after much pushing from me, she got a minimum wage job and stuck with it for 2 years before making the decision to go back to another university and a different degree.

She duly quit her job, left the UK on March 17 to go travelling, initially to NZ where I have family and then on to Japan. She comes back next week. I'm so proud of her. She's learned resiliance and self reliance. She's had a whale of a time and obviously grown up a bit in the interim.

I have 1 week day off a fortnight which is a relatively new thing for me. I thought I would spend it going out on grand outdoorsy adventures, but instead I've mostly spent it doing silly exercise classes (as in the ones you laugh your way through) and then going to the garden centre for brunch or tea and cake after. I'm 40 and I find it absolute bliss doing really simple things that are just nice.

I recently treated myself to an aquarium and I enjoy watching the fish swim around. Boring to many I'm sure, but I could watch them for hours if I had the time.

I've also got pretty good at DIY recently and feel proud of my accomplishments in turning my dated crap hole of a house into something quite nice.

I retired at 53, We'd already bought a house online during covid, we visited it for one hour a few months later, luckily it was fine and then moved out here to South West France late 2021.

Today I've had to come in because it is finally too warm this year, and we've harvested enough potatoes yesterday and today to last about 3 months. And we still have 3 out of the 5 potato beds to go.

We've semi taken on 8 semi feral cats and kittens who are all out in the sun snoozing and chasing butterflies.

There is nothing better than having some hammock time, watching kittens playing and chasing insects, with a cold drink and 90s indie music on the headphones.

We have two horses 🐎 and a dog 🐶 and a tortoise 🐢 and birds 🐦

I've actually had a busy day at work today, feels productive. Also managed to get mundane house jobs done too, laundry all washed, line dried, and put away. I've bake my bread for this week and prepped bolognaise pasta bake for later. Just about to head to the gym before DH gets back from work. Home spa pamper night later on tonight.

I saw one of these guys chilling on a tree earlier They're not rare but they don't come into urban areas much so I've never seen one before. (Pic is of a lizard, I blurred it in case anyone has a phobia of reptiles!)

On a more significant note, I'm in my 30s and two weeks into my first ever potential career. My previous work has all been 'just a job' jobs and I figured I'd be doing that kind of thing for the rest of my life - which to be honest I was fine with, and I don't know yet whether I'll stick with this or go back to more mundane work. But for now it's an exciting novelty to be in a role where there are opportunities for promotion and more interesting responsibilities down the line.

I'm on holiday with my adult son and his girlfriend
We've not fell out , no one has got sunburnt or heat stroke
We've had a smooth journey with flight , coach etc
Had a nice trip yesterday on a glass bottomed boat
The food is really good
Beds are comfy
Place is really clean and all we hoped for
Chatted to a nice lady in the pool whilst doing aqua aerobics
Sun is shining and had about 15 seconds of rain

Hoping it stays this way
Oh ... and best of all ... I'm not at work 🎉🤩❤️

Saturday before last I was in Leeds with my old GFs from uni, we went to a fab event call Bingo Jamz and danced all night to some nostalgic 90s RnB.. last Sat I was at Kew Nights silent disco...again danced for hours to every type of music in the most beautiful location. And last night I attended my daughter BF wedding, food was wonderful (Turkish/Carribean).and the music again had me dancing for hours. I've had a day off and I've recovered by sleeping in, laying on the sofa with the cat and restorative cups of tea.. Bring on the over 40s daytime disco amd Eras I'm having a dancing queen moment 😀

Love this thread. I've got a she shed where i do all my arts and crafts and I've been pottering around out there today. May do some gardening later, it gives me a chance to look at all the tiny wildlife living their tiny lives in my garden.

What a gorgeous thread!

Im still at work but I’m all smiles as I’ve just got off a video call with my two grown up DDs (still my babies!) planning the weekend as they are coming to stay and going To see Taylor Swift. It was very funny and lovely I genuinely feel like the luckiest mom to have them.

I had a difficult work meeting supporting someone, and afterwards I walked into the field behind my house and lay on the grass for half an hour listening to a radio 4 drama. It was so sunny and lovely and reminded me that I need to take time to look after myself too.

I was given 2 tickets for an excellent tribute band as part of a birthday present.
I'm going tonight with a friend I don't see very often.
As an extra treat we're going out to eat first at my favourite local restaurant and to have a long overdue catch up.
I'm really excited about it!

I'm sunbathing on my new deck in a house we bought and renovated. We are having the gardens done professionally after years of being frugal and saving. The kids are happy and have left home and I just booked a holiday for my husbands 60th I honestly could not be happier xx

I can see the Three Sisters in the Canadian Rockies from my bedroom window.

DH and I are retired - well almost retired. A chilli is cooking in the oven, DH is putting on the rice and chopping a pepper and then we’ll have a glass of Cremant de Loire while watching Celebrity Catchphrase (bugger the football).

This is for particularly for the mothers of young sons. Mine are all grown up, have lovely wives / partners, we all get on well, live within half an hour of each other and see lots of each other. No drama. It’s lovely. I appreciate every minute of it. It can happen!

My little dog is on my feet while I lie in the garden under a fluffy blanket in the evening sun watching my husband and son-in-law building a garden shelter for the new outdoor kitchen. Lovely.

My DS and his partner are expecting a healthy baby girl after a missed miscarriage the week before Xmas,my DIL spent Xmas recovering from a D & C so we're thrilled for them;this is the first grandchild on both sides and first neice for all their siblings.

This Christmas will be baby's first Christmas so what a différence a year makes

Went sea swimming with DD yesterday evening. Stayed in for a while in our wetsuits, swimming across the bay and spotted some horseshoe crabs as the visibility was good. Swam out to some rocks and heard the sea birds and some music from the shore - old classics. On the way back we swam through a sun trail and warm currents.

Oh and my tiny strawberries are delicious.

I was reading through this lovely thread, and came across @Milosmum61 post - that's wonderful news for your DD.

And it also reminded me of being on a similar thread 15 years ago, when I posted that I had just received the letter discharging my baby DD from the care of the paediatricians, fully recovered from her shaky start in life in SCBU. Tomorrow, I'll be taking my beautiful 16-yo DD to her prom. And all I can think about now is how I wept when I got the letter, and lovely MNetters celebrated with me!

My cat, who is friendly but not a lapcat, or even a sit close to you cat, chose to join me on the garden chair and actually sit right next to me. Which was lovely.