Grabbing happiness by the handful

• The smell of cooking popcorn drifting up the stairs, and knowing some is for me.


• Closing the kitchen last thing at night, knowing everything is finally in its place.


• Giggling toddler shouting: "'eady [ready].... go!go!go!" and racing across the floor to hug me.


• Going outside and not nearly getting knocked off my feet in the wind!


• Hearing a teenage son laughing at his computer screen.


• Playing a bit part in a five year old's roleplay. ("Mum. You don't see me because I'm human. Then you feel someone nudging you.")


• Making space where there was clutter and then basking in it.


• Seeing signs of spring, everywhere.

The 12-9-6-3 NOW meme

As tagged (and created) by the lovely EF.

TWELVE YEARS AGO, ME: LOCATION: Tall victorian terraced house in Todmorden CHILDREN: Three, aged 3, 5 and 7 JOB: MD of leisure company. Manager of roller skating rink. Mother! TRANSPORT: Car - one of a series of many. Can't remember which one, but it'd be a big family car. Estate or similar. Many seats. EMPLOYEES: Staff at rink, part time nanny, mother's help. All good friends FAVE DRINK: Herb tea LOVE INTEREST: Husband. Still trying to make it work after 8 roller coaster years CONTRACEPTION: Probably not needed by then. WISH FOR FUTURE: Eek. I think I wanted to be divorced. SPONSORS: Customers. Creditors. Parents, to some extent. HAIR: Hair?? Goodness me, I can never remember that. It'd be black and quite long, probably. UNDERWEAR: EF!! I don't know! Erm.... think think.. probably black lycra type stuff. I was working out in gyms a lot at the time. FAVE OUTFIT: Black leggings, silky tops. Good for skating and rushing around. Busy busy busy.

NINE YEARS AGO, ME: LOCATION: This house, on the hill. Sold the Tod house and moved here the year before. Bliss! CHILDREN: 3, aged 6, 8 and 10. JOB: Kung fu/ T'ai chi teacher and loving every minute of it. TRANSPORT: A nippy little VW Polo. EMPLOYEES: Er - none! Bliss, after years of trying to keep track of way too many. FAVE DRINK: Herb tea. LOVE INTEREST: Two or three that year I think. Colleagues, mostly. CONTRACEPTION: Condoms + panics. Then IUD coil. Ugh, hated that. WISH FOR FUTURE: I think I had it all that year. SPONSORS: Students, topped up by government money or the other way around. UNDERWEAR: Just cotton stuff. FAVE OUTFIT: Training gear.

SIX YEARS AGO, ME: LOCATION: As above. CHILDREN: Three, aged 9, 11 and 13. JOB: Home educator. TRANSPORT: A nippy little Peugeot 205. EMPLOYEES: None. FAVE DRINK: Tea. Coffee when living on the wild side. LOVE INTEREST: None I can mention. CONTRACEPTION: Still that IUD coil, but it was on its way out. WISH FOR FUTURE: More children. Was very broody that year. SPONSORS: Dole Office. HAIR: Same as ever. Long. Dark. Maybe a bit shorter than usual. *Shrug* UNDERWEAR: Yep. FAVE OUTFIT: Yep. Oh. Jeans, leggings, whatever.

THREE YEARS AGO, ME: LOCATION: Here again. Still. CHILDREN: Four now. Ages: 2, 12, 15 and 17 JOB: Home educating. Good, innit? I think I might have been running a Warcraft guild by then as well, which was actually a hobby, but felt like a job. TRANSPORT: By foot, by bus, borrowing friend's car. EMPLOYEES: none. FAVE DRINK: Still with the boring old tea and coffee. I didn't suddenly take to drink! Running a pub all those years ago put me off booze for life. LOVE INTEREST: Hmm. None. Maybe. CONTRACEPTION: None. WISH FOR FUTURE: To finish Molten Core and kill Ragnaros. You'd have to be a WoW fan really, to know what I'm on about! SPONSORS: Dole Office. HAIR: Yes. UNDERWEAR: Yes. I'm not really getting into the spirit of this, am I? FAVE OUTFIT: My little WoW priestess had some pretty cool armour...

TODAY, ME: LOCATION: Still here. CHILDREN: Five! Ages: 19, 17, 15, 5 and 1. JOB: Home education-ing. Still loving it. TRANSPORT: This month? None. We're staying put. When it's working: Renault Espace. EMPLOYEES: None. FAVE DRINK: Tea, coffee, yada yada. Ooh: chai. LOVE INTEREST: Absolutely none. I'm far too ruthlessly independent for all that now. CONTRACEPTION: None. WISH FOR FUTURE: To build our new off-grid house and keep on living happily ever after. SPONSORS: HM Govt for now, but not for much longer. And The Green Parent magazine, bless it. HAIR: Yes yes. It's getting many grey streaks now. Should I start dying it? UNDERWEAR: Yes indeed. FAVE OUTFIT: Depends if the heating's working or not. Able to wear black again now, after 11 months of not being able to. Weird thing that - the day I last gave birth I suddenly couldn't wear dark colours any more!

If you haven't seen this before, consider yourself tagged.