Not a total disaster

I was so busy telling you about the rat drama yesterday that I didn’t have time for the good stuff.

My mental health day off on Friday wasn’t a complete disaster.

After anxiously assuring my ex that Twitch was an unwelcome surprise to me too, I drove up to the Northern Beaches for some R&R.

I mean, what else is a girl/middle-aged woman to do when it’s 24C with a 23C ocean temperature?

I gasped when I saw Bilgola Beach. It was flat as a lake, without a wave in sight. Paddle boarders were twirling around within metres of the shore and swimmers were doing lazy laps.

DD and I waded into the ocean up to our chests and floated around in the crystal clear water marvelling at the calm conditions.

Glorious … but a bit boring sans the wave action. So we dried ourselves off and headed to lunch at a local Thai place and then had a quick snuggle before I headed into the city to get my hair fixed.

My colorist had used a new formulation the week prior and I’d bolted off before it was dry because I can’t cope with how long hair appointments take. So no one noticed my roots were one colour and the ends another.

I’m hopeless at public complaints (despite being a champion at private ones), so I held off for a week thinking maybe I was imagining it or that it would even up with a few washes. But no.

The moment the salon saw my hair they agreed it wasn’t right, but fixing it was tricky. So I walked out a very dark redhead. Not my ideal, but we all politely  agreed it was a “nice change for winter”.

On Saturday, I took the youngest to her weekly netball game for another absolute pummelling by the private school girls, then returned her to bed.

She is constantly exhausted in the lead-up to having her nose fix. Aside from rallying for school, skipping and netball she’s almost permanently prone.

I offered to play Battleship or Jenga with her. Nope. I suggested we get our toenails painted. Nope. I proffered an invitation to lunch. Nope.

I asked if the youngest intended to spend the whole day in bed. Yep.

So I thought bugger it and bolted up to the beach again.

I mean, what else is a girl/middle-aged woman to do when it’s 26C with a 23C ocean temperature?

It was very deja vu … Bilgola Beach was flat as a lake without a wave in sight. Paddle boarders were twirling around within metres of the shore and swimmers were doing lazy laps.

DD and I waded into the ocean up to our chests and floated around in the crystal clear water marvelling at the calm conditions.

Glorious … but a bit boring sans the wave action. So we dried ourselves off and headed off for lunch at the local brewery and a quick snuggle before I drove home to watch Legally Blonde and – unfortunately – Legally Blonde 2 on the couch with the youngest.

Legally Blonde is a very fun movie. Legally Blonde 2 is a very bad movie.

But the youngest enjoyed them and her requested bangers and mash dinner.

I’m amazed that I got two such summery swims in late May. I’m also grateful – I really needed them. The ocean and DD are my sanity anchors.

The winter weather blew back into town yesterday. Frigid, freezing winds. Brrrrrrrr!

That didn’t stop DD and I going on an adventure. But you’ll have to wait for tomorrow’s blog post to hear all the details. I’ve blathered enough for one day.

Song of the day: Billy Idol “Hot in the city”