This time next week...

I will be in London, in a nice hotel ( or not, because there will be no children you know, not one......none so we might be out, when it's dark, doing , well who knows what, but you can be sure I'll tell you!)
I am excited and a bit scared.
Yikes....the unknown and unfamiliar.
Leaving my children, I don't do that, really I don't. H and I even fit in the things we like to do when the boys are at school, we don't do evenings, something that at times I mind and other.....nah, who cares?
I left my big kids twice, when they were 9, 11 and 13 to go away with my sister for 2 weeks, after being a single parent for 9 years it was the first time I had ever been away from them.
Then I left them a year later when I met H, flew to california and spent 2 weeks with him.
Both times my mum had them , she came to stay at my house and looked after them.
So, this is the first time I have ever left these children ever. They will be with H who I am sure is perfectly capable of looking after them, of course it goes without saying that before I leave there will be clothes, washed, ironed and put into outfits ready and set out......food will be a plenty, house will be scrubbed, tidied, organised and spic and span. Every eventuality will be catered for, emergency numbers for rides, help, sanity saving step ins..you name it, I'll have organised it.
Prayers will have been said for a subdued and busy Sophie and a patient H, hoping that there won't be any major Sophie vs H shenanigans. Instructions will be left that my cell phone can be called for happy, I miss you calls, goodnight calls, simple instruction requests and NOTHING ELSE. I don't want to hear tales of woe or ' he said, she said, I hate him, WARGHHHHHHH' I don't. I also don't want any "where are you? what are you doing? When are you coming home calls?"
Sophie does that, endlessly, she can go out and stay out for hours at a time, stay over at a friend's and forget to tell me, but if I am not here, right here, always she calls, where, what , how and WHY? .
Jordan calls too, vague interest as to where I am but usually a request to tell Sophie to shut up or asking if he can hit her please .
Can you see why I usually just don't bother? I worry about my Isaac too because he does so love things to be the same. He loves me to say the same things at bedtime and for me to take him. He likes daddy to take him to school, mummy to collect him.
I get Isaac, I do. He rarely pushes my buttons.....I can read his mind, very helpful. H can't. Ack. Its 2 days though, right? well 3 actually, 2 nights 3 days.........which is either a long time or no time at all.
I suspect to H it will be 20 minutes short of eternity. He will see just how it feels to really do everything ( except he won't, will he, because I will have seen to so much before I go! When he goes he packs his bag and says
"Bye then!" ) He will be very tired when I get home. He will.
To the boys I think it really won't be any different .....except things might not be quite as smooth as normal.
To me......well I can't imagine how it will be for me, H says I am to just go for it and not think about anything. Oh but it were so simple. I am woman. I think.
I am pretty sure that both Marilyn and I will send some time, maybe 3 minutes standing in a daze in the capitol of this great country and wonder what the blinkin' hell to do first...then we will just do it.
As much of it as we can.
I want to do more of the stuff we couldn't / wouldn't do with kids. Posh shops, quiet eateries, places filled with fragile things and expensive things, shops where we can look at and buy things for the children without having the accompanying whines and pleading. OH MY HEAVENS I am SO excited.
And scared.

I am ridiculously worried about ridiculous things, like terrorists. Ooer. ( and ask me why, WHY did I read THAT? And why NOW and that little deal on the left that says " what are we doing to keep Britain safe? DON'T TELL US!! Now the terrorists know too and then, of course, if the terrorists hadn't found that, but they found my blog, and then read it...I so just told them where to get some handy tips. Argh.)

And snoring, because I do that you know, (so I'm told) and Marilyn and I are sharing a room and I haven't had a sleepover for way too long. I do have cutesie snowman PJ's though.

What if my legs are bad and I am up all night and drive Marilyn mad? ( AHA!! Night nurse, big old slug. shall sleep like a baby and not know a thing....will snore but if I give Marilyn a gulp of night nurse too she won't hear me, or care. Brilliant, solved. )

There is one thing I don't have to worry about and that is our hotel has WIRELESS internet, have laptop, will travel. Blog will be fresh and details in full, complete with pictures. Can you feel the love?

Did I forget anything to be afraid or excited about, imagine if I don't cover all the possibilities and something unexpected befalls me and I'm not ready for it. Do tell me if I forgot anything......I'm not worried about getting lost, we probably will and it will be funny because we will be lost together. With no kids and a sense of adventure, all the time in the world and a devil may care attitude. Unless we get seperated and then lost....ack I hadn't thought of that. Pathetic, I know...we both speak English and we can both read....we will be in a civilised country, it's just that its's so long since I was let out on my own.
I am so impressed by people who go back packing around the world and even sleep in mud huts and go where they aren't understood. Either that or I think they are complete twits who ought to know better.

Anyway, this time next week I shall be there. Then I shall know, won't I? And so, my dears will you. I bet you can hardly wait.