I met H and the girls in London Friday evening. He had bought tickets to the England football (soccer for the non-English on here) which was playing that night. D9 had said she didn't want to go so I offered to take her for the night (it was his night) and instead he took one of D12's friends. Anyway, I took D9 to watch Aladdin in the west end and we had a brilliant night together. I got tickets close to the front and she giggled and smiled through the whole thing. I think I spent more time watching her the watching the show, but tbh, I enjoyed watching her be happy more than I would have enjoyed the show. It is watching the world through the eyes of someone who still sees wonder in it. We all met back at the station after the game/show and headed home together. I sat across from H and pretty much just fell asleep. There was some conversation but I was actually pretty tired. When we got back to the station he offered to drive me back to where I had parked my car, but as he too had parked a fair distance from the station (15 mins) I said I would just head off on my own. It was weird watching my family walk in the opposite direction to me. He was more upset than me and said "Don't be stupid by the time you walk to your car, I could have driven you there" but, honestly, I just wanted to get away.
Saturday I was on my own most of the day. I decided to go in to town and grab a bite to eat and browse the stores. I stopped at a book store and bought a book of poetry (to read whilst I was eating lunch) and also had my nails done. Afterwards, I went to H's flat and spent an hour with the children (I texted him in the morning to see if it would be OK if popped around) as he was having them overnight Saturday too.
That night a girlfriend came over who is going through a very messy D. She is one of the mums at D9's and her H has been having an affair for about six months. Everyone knows and it has gotten very messy (the A was with another mum). He moved out last week and last night was the first time he was having their kids over night. She does not want him back, but the sitch has taken its toll, she is emotionally and physically broken. Despite knowing that she does not want him back, she fears the same things we all fear: being alone; the damage to her children; having to sell her home. Anyway, we talked late into the night about forgiveness, moving on, staying strong, and the importance of maintaining a equilibrium for the children. All things I learned here.
Football today. H came round before hand and spent an hour here and then we all went to football. It was a fair drive away and we spoke about my friend who came over. He cannot understand what her H is doing. He is disgusted. He worries about the kids. He mentioned MLC and depression and that her H is trying to escape because he feels inadequate and disappointed with his life (he was fired from work two years ago and has been unemployed ever since). It was ironic. But it was conversation. So that's positive.
Not much else to report. I have the girls this evening so I am going to cook a cottage pie and after dinner we will all sit in with a video and popcorn. It will be a good night.
