birthday

50 Already?

Tim MaidmentLeave a comment

So, uh, somehow I’ve made to 50 years and I have pretty much most things working okay, a good job, people who love me, most of my marbles, and as of today an all clear from a cancer scare. So that’s a good way to start the next revolution round the sun.

I’ve just finished a charity stream with Lady B and boy s playing the new Destiny expansion and been getting blown away by all the deep lore that is being paid off after years of breadcrumbs. The gameplay is slick, the storytelling compelling, and the excited noises from boy s deeply amusing. We had to force ourselves to stop because it was gone 2am.

So, what’s planned for this year? To be honest I don’t know. I never expected to get to this milestone. I was surprised to be so happy at age 40, let alone still among the living. My next markers are my tenth wedding anniversary and the fourth anniversary of collaring boy s in this next month. A holiday might be nice later this year.

For now though I have a week off work and some vague plans for D&D this weekend. That’ll do.

Escape Room Shenanigans

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We’re celebrating the cub’s birthday across this weekend, accompanied by Lady M’s niece and nephew, and the highlight as far as he’s concerned has been this morning where we took him to an escape room at the Denbies Estate just outside Dorking. He’s been wanting to do one for months since watching YouTubers attempt them and so we had a look round without telling him. Through careful questioning we discerned he wanted to try something spy-based, so it seemed appropriate to allow a little cloak and dagger about the event. Which is why we made sure it was all a big surprise.

Even as he got out of the car, he still didn’t know why we’d made him get up on a Saturday morning to come to a vineyard. When he noticed the signs, he started getting excited and asked again why we were here – and then when we confirmed we were there for an escape room, he started bouncing up and down on the spot. It’s probably the most excited I’ve seen him in quite some time, and the gleeful grin was wonderful.

The scenario was, as described, an explosive spy thriller, involving hidden rooms and videos of missile launches and we managed to not only beat the game, but completed every single puzzle – the last with 8 seconds to go. It was far more fun than I imagined it would be, and our respective skills and experiences meshed well. From knowledge of Ancient Greek, autistic hyperfocus, a head for logic puzzles, and all the inquisitive running around you can imagine; we all cracked puzzles, found solutions, and unearthed conundrums.

The kids, and cub especially, were buzzing with excitement and retelling of things they’d found and done – and to be fair so were the adults as we gathered for a pub lunch. About the only thing that sparked more excitement was the unwrapping of presents later – but that’s the cub for you.

Wouldn’t have him any other way.

On Holiday

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About time too – this has been another hectic week, again dominated by interviews and surrounding shenanigans – but at least we got to celebrate boy s’ birthday with a grand polycule gathering this evening. We met up for a meal once Lady M had finished work, and of course battled the usual assortment of roadworks each direction – because some things in life are a fixed and constant feature.

As is tradition, boy s cried over one of his gifts, and tried to hide under his own shirt when the restaurant staff sang happy birthday – he made the mistake of mentioning it when we arrived.

On an unrelated note, I am becoming convinced that one of the posts I’m trying to fill is cursed, as the second person I’ve offered it to has now accepted another job elsewhere before they’ve even started. They were, at least, very apologetic.

Birthday Quiet

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We had a new mattress delivered yesterday, and it was taking no prisoners, so aside from briefly awaking for coffee and presents, my birthday morning was largely spent in bed.

I have books, art supplies, and food and drink and am currently curled up on the sofa considering going back to bed.

I’ve also had a huge number of people saying nice things and wishing me well on social media, which has been humbling because I really don’t track how many people’s lives I touch on. Useful to bear in mind when feeling small.

Anyway, nothing exciting today, and that has been sorely needed of late.

Cub’s Big Weekend

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We’ve been looking forward to this weekend for a while as it was the Cub’s birthday, so after work on Friday I went and picked him and myr s up to bring them home for the weekend.

I was at work on the Saturday, which gave Lady M some time with them for shopping, soppiness, and down time, so that we were prepared for Sunday’s focus – a trip to the Science Museum.

The cub recently became enamoured of all things NASA and astronomy, so his excited gasp as he saw the hall of rockets and displays on the science of other planets was wonderful to hear.

We explored roughly half of the museum in the time we had, and could have easily stayed longer if not for our awareness of time passing and needing to get him home for school on the Monday.

Between that visit and the presents he got, not to mention the treat of McDonald’s for supper, the Cub had a very good birthday weekend, and it was a joy to just all be able to spend time together as a family too.

Celebration

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It was Lady M’s birthday yesterday, so we made the most of it. She had a small mound of presents and cards to enjoy before we jumped in the car and sped down the way to Portsmouth for breakfast with myr s and Lady B, and a wander round the shops.

When we got back there were flowers and chocolates from the Charleesi, her boyfriend, and the ex-Mrs M, and we just settled into a quiet evening.

With lockdown looming, it felt like a last-ditch effort to get to see everyone and was much needed: Lady M got to be surrounded by loved ones while friends on social media made her timelines explode with good wishes.

Happy Birthday myr s

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Its grey and overcast here, but it’s myr s’ 29th birthday so our support bubble/polycule chat is full of good wishes and positivity, so that’s no bad thing.

They’ve chosen today to launch a GoFundMe to try and raise money to begin transitioning under private medical care and support. NHS wait times are around three years before even starting support, so anything that can be done to help is worth a go. If you’re feeling so inclined, here’s a link to the campaign:

https://www.gofundme.com/f/morganrileytransition?utm_medium=email&utm_source=product&utm_campaign=p_email%2B2300-co-team-welcome

myr s is still mostly using they/them pronouns at the moment but we’re starting to use he/him as well in general conversation. It’s an interesting journey for all of us.

So here’s to myr s – Happy Birthday and long may the soppiness continue.

Happy Birthday Charleesi

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Its my daughter’s 21st birthday – well that happened quickly! Still seems like moments ago that I was ringing family, having stepped briefly out of the operating theatre to find that a thunder and lightning storm had started at the moment of her birth.

Totally not an omen.

Today we have reasonably clear skies, and gentle birdsong, a marked improvement for a special day. We’re still waiting on the final result for her degree but we don’t need that confirmation to know how amazing she is.

So happy birthday Charleesi, can’t wait to see what you do next.

Happy Birthday Me

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I am having a wonderful day of new books, fresh coffee, games on the XBox and very little else. I may even have had a tipple or two.

In other news, Lady M took delivery of her new work car – a Hyundai Ioniq that I am desperately failing to not refer to internally as the Erotique as both she and myr s have been salivating over it at some length. I haven’t driven it yet as I’ve been drinking but I look forward to getting used to it, even if it is an automatic. I must admit the wireless phone charging is neat though.

Lazy Sunday

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Nice slow day today, with my brain more or less switched off, and it’s just what I needed.

Lady M continues to shower me with early birthday gifts: games and books for the most part. I am both very lucky and slightly bewildered by the cornucopia of choice now presented to me for the next time we meet with people. Cards Against Star Wars, Choose Your NSFW Poison, and X-Men Munchkin are all now carefully propped up, ready to be unleashed.

As for this evening, I’m currently stood at Osterley Tube Station waiting for myr s to arrive from seeing Lindemann up in town this evening. I’ll take them home for a quick cuppa, freshen and change before putting them in an Uber back to Portsmouth so they can do the school run with the cub in the morning. If we had a spare car I’d do it myself, but alas the logistics don’t quite match up this evening.

Still, not a bad start to my week off.