So today is my daughters birthday… and i’m sure I should be writing some huge long entry to mark the occasion but to be honest… we’ve had such a busy weekend that I’m shattered… It was fabulous to actually take a day off work and spend it with her… and just chill.. relax.. mooch around and spend time together just the two of us.. and the copious amounts of shop assistants that we said “Hello”… “Thank-you” and “Is it ok to take 9 items into the changing rooms” to…

My daughter is the most amazing thing to happen to me… things have been tough… especially the last 18 months… but she loves me no less and I love her more than I could ever imagine possible. She is the reason I do the things I do… and almost every decision I make in my daily life is based on what the result to her will be.. even down to “What filling shall I have in my sandwich for lunch?” because that affects what I’ll cook for dinner… (Figure it out.. it isn’t hard).

Seriously though… how the time has flown.. where oh where did those years go???? And can I have some of theacm back please so that I can do some things differently…..

My daughter is 14…. 14 years old… I’m not old enough to have a 14 year old am I????? Oh God.. yes I am…

Her being 14 brings two things very much to the fore…. (actually make that three)

1. My Father has been dead 8 years - that scares me as the pain of it sometimes is as fresh as if it were yesterday…
2. I’ve been single for 12 years - SD and I split up just after HB’s 2nd birthday… I don’t regret being single all that time.. I don’t wish it were any different.. I don’t want anyone to feel sorry for me for being on my own all that time… I was happy to be alone with my daughter… bring her up as best I could.. on my own.. with no-one else but her to have to take into consideration…. I wouldn’t change it for the world…
3. Chocolate cake is the best thing ever invented…. and chocolate birthday cake closely follows it…

So what did we do today??? We shopped… and when I say shopped.. I mean we SHOPPED… HB loves to shop and I’ve been saving especially for this day so that we can both have a fabulous birthday splurge and we did indeed do just that… Shes gutted that we can’t find the Pink Converse Chuck Taylor All Stars she wants anywhere in Plymouth… but I’ll keep looking and surprise her with them….

Best present so far???? Well.. despite everything I bought for her today… (including the best hair straightners ever invented.. bah.. who needs GHD’s) her best pressie is her new Etnies from my Big Bro. Its like a ritual thing with him.. he always buys her new Etnies for her birthday… because they are her favorite thing… these she got on Saturday… so that she could have them to wear on Sunday to her bowling thing….

Its weird.. thinking about her being 14… it makes me think about what I was getting up to at her age… and it comforts me to know that shes not doing half the things I was doing…

My Boy reminded me that we need to start saving so that she can have her car for her 16th birthday…. only 2 years to go….. *rolls eyes*