Happy Valentine’s Day from Me and Mister C! We hope you have been able to spend some quality time with your loved ones this week. I know I have written in previous blogs, that I don’t feel we should need to show certain affections or celebrations towards our partners and family on one particular day, rather we should be able to express our love at any time. However, over the past fourteen years (as I will admit, Husband and I are romantics at heart) as an ongoing little family tradition, our family has celebrated Valentine’s Day together (along with our wedding anniversaries and of course other special events), with a nice tea and some treats to share. I think it’s vital for children to be able express their affections openly and freely (don’t you think?), while see their parents show appreciation and affection to one another, while also feel included in such celebrations. As I have always said to the girls and Mister C, without Husband and I, there would be no girls and Mister C to celebrate with…
Yesterday morning, I mentioned to the girls that it was Valentine’s day, I also asked both girls if they were expecting a card or a sweet surprise from anyone at school (as a parent, I like to find out the gossip). Both girls sighed and Widy replied, “No, Mum, we don’t really do Valentine’s Day at school! Happy Valentine’s Day though…” Flossy smiled and replied, “Happy Valentine’s Day, Mum! You’re the best and I hope you have a happy day. Do you think Dad will get you some flowers or something? You deserve it all!” I gave her a big ‘Mum’ hug and said “Thanks, my sweet girl. I will get you both a treat from the shop and you can have it this afternoon after school.” Both girls smiled and nodded, then off they went to school in Widy’s (mostly reliable) white car. It’s so great that Widy is driving well now, and thanks angel for taking Flossy each day. I have to add, Widy picked up Mister C from school for the first time one day last week; it was so helpful and wonderful to have a bit of extra support, now that Widy’s been driving competently since November last year. Sometimes I can’t always get there to pick up Mister C on time, trusty Husband usually does so, when I have to work longer hours. How time flies; I have such fond memories of Widy first sitting in the front seat of our old black ‘Barbie’ car (Mazda CX7), at a young eight or nine years old; that was a big step for all way back then, soon Widy is going to be a grown-up eighteen-year-old in mid-August, how exciting!? (My goodness- I do feel old now).
Mister C came running back upstairs, nearly ready for school (minus the shoes). “Happy Valentine’s Day too, Mummy! You are the best Mummy and Dad is so lucky to have you! I hope Dad gets you lots of chocolates and a big card with lots of love written on it.” I gave Mister C a big hug and replied, “Thanks, my son. I hope you have a good day too; do you think you might get a sweet card or something nice from one of the girls in your class, who likes you?” Mister C looked puzzled, then sighed, “Oh, no, Mummy; that girl likes not one boy, but two other boys now!” … “Oh, dear, my son; never mind, I still love you and you can be my baby Valentine!? Mister C grinned and said, “I will make you a love card at school today, I may even get some free time to draw you a cool picture!” Smiling, I replied, “I would love that, my son.”
This particular Valentine’s Day was a very busy day, with the new carpet going into Widy’s bedroom and the vast clean-up of all Widy’s clothing items and belongings (mostly my work) to go back into her room (without a new ‘IKEA’ wardrobe yet). We were also expecting the insurance company building assessor to come out to our property, to assess the flood damage and discuss the building claim, along with any preventative measures that were going to be undertaken to stop any future flooding on our property area again (heaven forbid!). I have to write (and rarely do complain), the assessor was quite unpleasant (putting it lightly), almost accusing Husband and I of putting in a false claim (of which we did not do). I nearly had to walk away from the prickly (unfriendly) person who clearly stated, “Well, Ma’am you have serious issues here at your property!”
The assessor tried to apologise for his abrupt manner and for telling us this information; my mind recalling back to us having to wait (very patiently) for over three weeks for this person to come out to our house, only to be told there was nothing the insurance company could or would do; in that they only ever fix things after an event and never do any type of preventative measure after an event (why did the claim get approved in the first place?). The conversation ended with the assessor stating, “At least the main house structure is not damaged, that’s a good thing, don’t you think?” Husband and I both looked at each other, nodded and agreed, deciding not to push the point about the claim. We were very thankful that I had already been in contact with our local Council (thanks very much), and the Council were willing to assist with the drainage issues and had offered to install a bitumen lip (hump) across the top of our driveway and perimeter, of which would certainly help prevent much rain-water run-off (fingers crossed!).
This unpleasant meeting left me feeling quite annoyed and dismayed (on Valentine’s Day too!); I felt it really had been a waste of time waiting so many weeks for this assessor to come out. I was very relieved Husband had been there and was also very thankful for a big bear hug from him afterwards (thanks my rock and Happy Valentine’s Day again!). I regained my composure (a few minutes later) and rang the Council back to arrange a time for the work to commence at the top of our property; the Council assistant was very helpful and kind (thanks!). I also rang our fabulous carpet and flooring company and have arranged the wood flooring to be installed into our walk-in wardrobe area (thanks again), negotiating a good price (amount to be paid on top of the insurance contents pay-out, as it was carpet originally). I soon felt relieved (also having a good chat with my dear sister- love you C.M and happy birthday D.M too) for this ongoing support, so Husband and I would eventually be able to get back to living in our bedroom area again (most likely months later!).
Husband and I eventually got to go out for a nice lunch at our local club (thanks for the birthday vouchers) and enjoyed a little (late) Valentine’s Day celebration together; Husband commented that the steak was the best he had had in ages. In the car after our lunch, Husband said, “Oh, I need to dash into the shops to get something.” I agreed to go in with him as we needed a few groceries anyway. A few minutes later, Husband came back from inside the supermarket looking a bit dismayed, “Oh, this is for you, my love- there were no flowers left!” Husband gave me a beautiful indoor plant in a gorgeous white pot, displaying a red motif of a set of lips on the front of the pot (so cute). That melted my heart; we also exchanged chocolate treat gifts (and had even bought each other the same romantic card- how funny?) and with the girls and Mister C, when they all came home from school; the squeals of delight coming from Widy’s room, as she saw her new carpet and bedroom cleaner and a whole lot neater…
A Word From Mister C…
Mister C jumped into bed for morning hugs, Dad was away overnight for work again. Mister C sighed and said, “I love you, Mummy; you have a pig’s brain!” Looking a bit sleepy and puzzled, I replied, “Oh, thanks, my son. I don’t know about the pig’s brain?” Mister C giggled then said, “You don’t look like a pig, but you are even smarter than a pig. They are very smart, you know?!” Smiling I giggled, “Oh, yes, they are,” I replied, giving Mister C another hug. “You are just as smart, my son!” … “Oh, I know… I am the smartest pig of them all!” Both giggled… 🐷🐷
Stay tuned…
Mister C and Me have some exciting news to share, I managed to secure a stall at the fabulous local Goulburn Show coming up on Sunday 6th March (show goes for the whole weekend 5th-6th). We are super excited to be able to meet people, attend a book signing and we will also be doing some book readings throughout the day as well. Take a look at our Milestone widget box on the blog site for more details. We hope to see many there! Thanks for your continued support reading our blog, it warms our hearts knowing you are taking a bit of time out of your busy day, to read the blog each week (and hopefully enjoying a warm or cold beverage too?). Hugs Mister C… 🙌
What a lot of news in the blog this week! It must have been so disappointing that the insurance assessor was dismissive, especially after waiting for many weeks for him/ her to arrive. Hope it is all sorted soon and you can enjoy your new floors!