Despite what the date says, today is February 14th, 2022...


Today is the BIG day of love here in the USA. For those of you new to the blog, welcome, and those playing along, welcome back! This is all written with much humor and tact where possible and I've been asked a number of times "If we are ok?" The short answer is absolutely... mostly. Today I spent the morning homeschooling the three brains and decided to head out to get morning tea once they'd nailed their times tables (which they did!) The property manager decided TODAY was going to be the day to come and fix all the shit he hasn't and I received a flurry of texts from the hubs at work asking if we would be here. Now for the record, he said he was coming tomorrow and after all the fucking around he's done, he can damn well come when he said he would! So no, he was told not to come today. Woo, win for me sticking to my values and holding you to yours...


After a STUNNING morning tea at a bakery we adore, but I can't name because the google snoops now send me ads in French not English (insert eye roll and giggle) our friends who had joined us asked if we would like to head over to the other side of town and go ice skating outside. My mummy brain was high-fiving me for telling the kids to wear jumpers, snow coats, AND beanies, thinking they'd be warm... it was 18 degrees two days ago and today it was minus 4.

We got there, skates on, frozen hands five minutes later and we grabbed some slippers from a nearby shop for frozen hands. Genius thinking from R!!!

All was well with the afternoon.


You know when you see people and they make your eyes roll? Three teens rolled up to the seating near the rink and instantly my eyes disappeared into the nether region of my head. I do try not to judge people but they looked like they were coming from trouble, about to cause it, and about to leave from it. Honestly, it wasn't five minutes later that they began by hopping the fence into the rink in sneakers. Now I know I've played broomball in sneakers, it was a hell of a lot of fun, but when there are littles and bigs going around a rink (not many who could actually skate but giving it a red hot go) being an idiot on the ice doesn't help the potential pile-up. The Zamboni guy told them to hop it, there was an exchange of grunts and 'make me' and they disappeared. You know what, I was young once and didn't think much of it.

Not two minutes later I heard a crack on the ice. Not a bone-crunching fall crack, something else. I saw a cream thing but nothing registered upstairs. A second hit not far in front of me and as I turned my head I saw my bug at the end of the rink closest to the rock launching idiot and my bug was ducking behind the glass. I heard a rock CRACK on the glass. That was it.

I'm happy loud by nature, it is not known in historical terms for me to be loud and stand up for myself but mess with one of my children and a whole new Jules appears. LOUD, ANGRY and you better get your running shoes on!

"HEY! KNOCK IT OFF, THATS MY SON YOU NEARLY HIT!"

"what?"

"I SAID KNOCK OFF THROWING THE FUCKING ROCKS"

"huh?"

The next bit began with "LET ME SLOW IT DOWN FOR YOU SO YOU UNDERSTAND ENGLISH... STOP. THROWING. FUCKING. ROCKS. AT. MY. CHILD! (rock badly aimed at me) I think there was a 'Come on, send it my way I dare you! You won't be walking out of here" along with many many colourful expletives thrown in. He tried twice more with the second one almost landed in my hand. I did go to catch it and when I looked up he was legging it out of the complex. I giggled and thought, the smartest decision you made today mate.


He had thrown about 8 rocks by the count that was collected by the Zamboni man. It did happen really quickly so by the time I turned around to walk back to R, the skating people were coming out of their warm office with what I hoped was backup. R reminded me that we are in the USA and people have guns here... She's definitely not wrong and I had certainly not thought of that either. I did spend the remaining half hour with my eye on that entryway and the other on the kids, slightly hyper, slightly angry but amazed I still had kindergarten Jules in me.


My beautiful love bug skated straight over to me after they left, asked for a hug and mid hug looked up with those giant eyes of his and whispered,

"Thanks, mum, thanks for being my mum and always protecting me"


Anytime kiddo, anytime.

The rink- no this is not from today. Just a stock of where we were.