Today

I woke up this morning and made the decision to give the fitness test a miss. An exercise free day. My body just groaned at the thought of it and my head agreed totally. They colluded together to keep me in bed.

It is not often I do that, but today it felt right. Got out of bed, had a shower, got dressed and started to do some things around the house.

I felt like I was wagging work or school or something. The guilty pleasure that goes with being a bit naughty.

Anyway, later on in the morning, my son (still in pj's) asked me if I was going to go up the street and get him his Saturday morning croissant. How could I resist his imploring face.

I actually went to the shops in my yoga pants. Not something I normally do, ever. But they are very stylish ones so I figure I can go a bit casual now and then. Besides, everything was in the wash anyway and it wasn't like I was stepping out onto Rodeo Drive.

If there is something I really enjoy, it is going down to the shops on a sunny Saturday morning. Seeing all the different people doing the same things each week. Sitting outside coffee shops, cigarettes in hand and chatting with friends. Other people inside cake shops and indulging in sweet treats. Older people standing around talking together before heading their separate ways.

When I was walking down there, enjoying the hustle and bustle, the warm sunshine and sounds of shop activities, I realised that I have not done this properly for a while. Haven't been walking as much as I used to. Haven't been stepping out my front door an walking down to the busy shops to do my shopping.

Part of this is because I am working more. And the winter months are a bit of a drag. Also, I think I got sick of just walking for the sake of it. I tell you, I think I had walked the same route hundreds of times and lost motivation.

Now I have the break from doing the same old, same old I feel ready to get back to it. You see a lot when you walk and I have missed that. Not that I actually knew I missed it. Not until today actually. Had it not poured with rain later on in the afternoon I would have gone for a long and aimless walk through the streets.

When down the street in the morning, I popped into a small bookshop to see what was new in stock. Penguin books are becoming the great reads now and the display was full of new editions. For years their low price and diverse range went out of popularity, people choosing them over the flashy chic lit reads. But now they are back in fashion and more and more book stores have a dedicated Penguin range.

I have always loved the austere look of the Penguin book covers. The lovely orange with the white. Simple. There are other colours, but this shop seems to only stock the orange fiction books. Whenever I look at them I know that behind that cover there will be a good story to read. The books are only $9.95 here which is great value for good reading.

Books in Australia are particularly pricey compared to other countries.

Most recently I have reread that great story The Beach by Alex Garland. When I first read it I was a bit shocked at the casual violence that was throughout it. The book is a bit more sinister than the movie and I still find it a very disturbingly satisfying read. It is my turn for holding the book club soon and I am going to introduce that as one of the suggested reads.

Despite wandering around the store for half an hour, I ended up buying my son a book and not me. He is mad about the author Robert Muchamore and the moment a new book comes out he cannot wait to get his hands on it. It will be an early night for him tonight just so he can open up the glossy hardback and get right into it.

Later in the afternoon my brother came over. He is doing the bachelor thing for the next few days and was a bit excited about the prospect of heading home to have pizza for dinner whilst watching a DVD without children climbing all over him. Now and then, it is nice to be free even if for a short time. Even when I offered him a chance to eat with us he declined saying that he was looking forward to being alone.

And my son. Well, he did not get out of his pyjama's at all today. It is the first day of school holidays and he intends to wallow in the extreme sport of slothness. He played a bit of Xbox, watched some television and ate in between.

Since putting in a new rule of no Xbox or computer Monday to Friday, my son has become a more industrious person. School work improved, sleep improved and he started to do other things.

One of those things is to ask to play clarinet.

My father in law always played clarinet. He has been unable to play since being in a nursing home so we kept his clarinet with us. My son has to play a musical instrument in High School and when we asked what his preference was he surprised us by saying he wanted to play clarinet. He even agreed to lessons and has been practicing diligently. The instrument agrees with him and he takes great care of it because it was his grandfathers.

I am relieved that he seems so interested. A couple of years ago he played piano and it was the most stressful thing to get him to practice. In the end we just had to agree that piano was not his thing. Music has to come from the child. If they are not interested, it is a chore of the worst kind.

Not only that, his clarinet teacher is a really groovy guy. Young, good looking and someone my son is duly impressed by. Plus, he comes to our house so my son feels relaxed and unrushed at the lesson..

Unlike his piano lessons had been. They were such an ordeal as mentioned in this post. In fact, my son said to me recently that the teacher he had put him off piano. At the time I had said to my husband that it would be prudent to get another piano teacher because she was so demotivating that it would put S off playing the instrument for life. K said I was being silly and that all piano teachers were like that. Yeah, well, maybe in 1959 they were, but not now.

My husband now agrees. This agreement is followed by me saying "I told you so". Can't resist the opportunity.

So, the day is drawing to a close. There are no plans for tomorrow other than to get out of bed at some point.

I am loving the thought of going to bed tonight because the sheets are freshly changed, smooth, white and crisply ironed and I like to slip between them like they are the envelope and I am the letter.

I shall then be posted off to the land of dreams.

Ciao
LC