Twelve months is a long time

Bravery is the capacity to perform properly even when scared half to death. ~ Omar Bradley ~

Middle MM turned 16 on Sunday, yes I feel old. So Monday heralded his pilgrimage down to the Motor Registration office to sit his Learners Permit test. He's only been counting down the days for 12 months. He made a silly mistake on the first attempt and hubby generously let him sit it again. This time victory.

In true male fashion (i.e. no fear) he took to the road yesterday with hubby in the passenger seat. Hubby has also been preparing for this day and bought MM a car 12 months ago. Licensing rules changed in September last year, so now he has to be on his learners permit for a minimum of 12 months and has to complete a minimum of 75 hours of supervised driving.

This requirement has an added benefit, I think I've seen more of him in the last 24 hours then I've seen of him all of the school holidays. We took him out driving last night - the family went for icecreams at McDonalds. Then tonight we went down to visit my in-laws for MM's birthday and then went out for dinner (MM drove the whole time). Two nights in a row he's gone out with his family, shock, horror.

We had an absolutely delightful meal, one of the best I've had in a long time. Good food, amazing service and reasonably priced. I didn't think there were places like this any more. The place had a constant flow of people the whole time we were there. It wasn't flash or fancy, in fact it was kinda dingy looking but what it lacked in visual appeal was more than compensated by the important things like good food and personable service.

Tomorrow is Australia Day, and what does this mean for me? A work holiday, yeah. Nothing better than a day off in the middle of the week, makes the work week go very quickly. Hubby is not so lucky, he has to work until 3pm, his job means he works public holidays and 2 out of 3 weekends on a rotating roster. Then in true Aussie fashion we'll be joining a group of friends for a barbecue.

I got a great amount of writing done over the weekend, I think I managed to write just over 3000 words, so I was very happy. I was frustrated that I haven't been able to write the last two nights, but quality time with family will always win hands down. I'm finding at the moment that I want to write and keep writing - I've never got that far before, I usually lose interest in the first couple of chapters. I'm worried that if I don't keep up a regular writing schedule that I'll lose interest. Grand total so far of 23994 words, woohoo!

My obsession with writing is playing havoc with my sleep patterns because I like to write at night (that's my best time - I have never been and never will be, a morning person). I get so caught up with writing that by 11pm I'm having to drag myself away from the computer to do the boring things like dishes and ironing clothes for the following day. It's usually close to midnight when I head off to bed and then my mind is usually spinning at a hundred miles an hour on what I'm going to write next.

So my plans for tomorrow are to take the two oldest MM's for a drive (oldest MM still has a number of hours to complete - he's never had the same urgency to get his license that middle MM has) I will put my life in their hands for several hours - as my post title says, twelve months is a long time especially when I'm in the passenger seat.

I'm usually a nervous passenger, having been in too many car accidents as a passenger when I was younger, but I manage to remain quite calm with the boys. Besides, they tell me that they prefer to go with me than their dad. Hubby gets frustrated and expects them to know instinctively what to do whereas I calmly explain and encourage them - must be that BLUE personality shining through.

Tomorrow is about driving and spending quality time with my boys, then a relaxing afternoon of writing followed by a meal with good friends. Nice!

Cheers, Fi