Tag Archive for: Lincoln

Time Travel

Lincoln’s conversation at teatime tonight was “If you could travel back in time when would you travel to?” and we had some fun with it but it got me thinking about Mommy’s and my answer compared to Reagan’s and Lincoln’s and it made me realise they have not lost anybody significant in their short lives.

Reagan would go back to Medieval times because she is learning about that at school, Lincoln would go back to when Shakespeare’s plays were being performed and watch him.

Mommy would go back to her grandparents in Wyoming and see them again a specific moment when they drove up to the house and her Grandma would be standing outside the house waiting smiling. I think because they figured so much in her childhood it was easy for her to pick that time and especially because today was the 23rd anniversary of her Grandma’s passing. I know the times Jamie spent at her Grandparents were treasured times because she talks about them often and always in a way that she wishes she could go back and experience those feelings again.

Norma and Harold Miller (Pam’s Parents)

I asked if I would be allowed to take other people with me when I travelled back in time, Lincoln informed me that I could, so I chose to travel back to a Christmas when all my Grandparents would come to our house. These Christmas’s are great memories from my childhood and I would love to take my family back to meet all of them and I know they’d all love to meet Reagan Lincoln and my American wife I can only imagine what they would think of them I am sure they would love them and the feelings would be reciprocated!

The photos above are moments in time and although the faces might not look happy they were such happy times, great memories and definitely times I would love to revisit if time travel was possible.

Photo1 Nan Hilda (My Dads Mum), Auntie Agnes, Auntie Elsie, Gran Garner (My Mums Mum), Nan Nell

Photo2 Grandad, Me, Gran Garner, Auntie Elsie, Nan Hilda, Nan Poole (Nan Hildas Mum), Uncle Frank (My Mums Brother) Grandad Garner (My Mums Dad), Karl

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Lincoln and Homework

Tonight Mommy asked if he’d done his homework and the silence that followed answered the question followed by the frustrated “I’ll do it now” confirmed it. He was caught doing his homework on Wednesday morning the day it was due so we had a talk and agreed no X-Box if that ever happened again. I say agreed, I agreed and he accepted. He is actually a good studious kid but the X-Box can take precedence over everything if we let so tonight I asked him to go get his homework and sit with us and do it with me, which he did but a quick check of question 2 a maths question was wrong so I asked him to slow down and take his time and he was doing big multiplications easily once he did, proving to me that he is as clever as I think he is!

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Never pick a favourite

We had a day out today in Stoke first, we went to see the couch Mommy bought while we were all isolating and got a VERY good deal in the boxing Day sales but we hadn’t actually been able to see it or sit on it until today. We were not disappointed it was lovely to look at and great to sit on even in the middle of a furniture shop! I saw the smile on Mommy’s face when we sat on it and the footstool too was an absolute bonus when we saw the size of it (and the storage it will create) along with the armchair means we won’t lose any seating space once we take delivery!

We treated the kids to Gourmet4 meal on the way back which Mommy had taken them too before and they had enjoyed but there were a couple of incidents on this visit, firstly we entered a practically empty restaurant and had to wait almost an hour for our food which really irritated all of us. When the food did arrive it was actually ok which avoided me complaining about the wait, but we probably won’t be returning because it was expensive for what they served and we could get better elsewhere with much better service!

The second incident happened during the wait….

Shocking and absolutely not staged
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Back to work

Have to admit it was a struggle to motivate meself this morning after waking 3 times in the night probably because I was thinking about work today but once I was up it was ok and the main priority was making sure Lincoln was OK because there was some tears about his new trousers (they weren’t slim-fit) but he soon got over it because he just gets on with stuff, tiredness was a big part of the morning stresses. Once Billy was walked I setup in Lincolns room and started work, the COVID symptoms were a lot better today and until this evening they really did not bother me. I took a lateral flow test which came back positive so no early release but relieved I feel better.

A bit fainter?

While in Lincoln’s room today I found time to tidy his room a bit because to be quite honest it was a bloody pig sty, most parents would have probably got their child to clean their own room but while working in there it was easy enough to do a little bit here and there and it soon looked a lot better.

Reagan spent the day justifying her time by telling me everything she had done as school work straight after she did it, which just make me smile because she would have been off school no matter what, but I think she was struggling by about 1pm to fill the hours and gave up about 2pm lol More of the same tomorrow Reagan [rolls eyes]

Special mention must go to Mommy who started her new job and I know she will smash it out of the park as she always does and always makes me proud how successful she is and although “employment” might now seem the perfect scenario in her head but there is no pressure for a while but still the money coming in which I think will be a nice change for the foreseeable. Already booked to go down to London in a couple of weeks our job is to make sure we support Mommy while she finds her feet and at times works away for a night or two.

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Christmas Day 2021

Reagan got a Samsung Tablet and was obsessed immediately, Lincoln got a steering wheel for his XBOX and Broncos bob hat both got Hue strip lights amongst many other presents, I went upstairs while Jamie and me were making dinner and this is what I found.

It seems that blue is the most popular colour today it’s soothing and perfect for gaming, amazing?

Christmas day began at 7am as per “the rules” and after getting Grandma on video call the present opening began in earnest, it is a blur when Reagan and Lincoln open presents and when they do it together its full on for 10 minutes and then it’s over, as quick as it begins lol

Without Nannie it wasn’t how we planned but we had dinner and pulled crackers then found charades to be the best fun ever lol while we were sitting at the table and we were all laughing hysterically it was my perfect Christmas moment, to me that is what makes me happy beyond words…it also crossed my mind that we wasted 300 quid on presents when parlour games are where its at?

I did manage to surprise Jamie who thought the chair she picked out for herself, I bought and wrapped was her only present gave her two canvases one of Reagan and one of Lincoln which were bigger than intended but beautiful and I am sure Jamie will make them work the other present was the bird feeder I had worked on the last couple of days and will add the water pump and feature over the next couple of days and position in front of her office window… I think she liked the surprise!

Late afternoon was spent playing Who knows Me Best and Kids Against Maturity until the kids got bored \ fed up with being around us so Mommy and me finished off Ghost that we started watching last night on gas telly adverts and all but it got too late and Santa might have turned up while we sat there watching? Reagan complained of a headache around 9pm and we advised tiredness and a good nights sleep would help so gave her paracetamol and sent her off to bed and we ended the night watching the film King Richard.

Lincoln ended the night flitting between building a lego baby yoda, playing on his phone and Forza on XBOX before bed

All in all a great Christmas Day and good memories made, oh and by the way Reagan smiled at the cuddly toy puppy and admitted she loves the presents she did receive and I actually heard her say “I love you, Mommy!”. Sometimes we worry about the wrong things as parents, our children are resilient and understand more than we think especially Reagan?

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…and just like that Christmas was gone!

Got woken by Jamie this morning creeping around the bedroom, I thought you were going to the gym, I was but my lateral flow is positive, and just like that the Christmas we planned was gone!

“If I isolate from you 3 you can still go to your Moms on Boxing Day, I just don’t want to stop you seeing your family at Christmas!”

My immediate thought was I have kept you from seeing your family for the last 13 years (bar one) so I have no room to moan about not seeing my family?

So we have all tried to do the right thing for months we wear masks we sanitise our hands we got jabbed jabbed again and boosted but there are so many people not bothering to do some or all of the above and avoiding those is impossible, the other thing is we have to live our lives too, we can’t stop doing the things we love to do. We were looking forward to seeing Nannie tomorrow and then the rest of the family on Boxing Day but so long as we all stay healthy that’s what’s important and that Reagan & Lincoln have a great Christmas is almost as important. We can guarantee the latter but only hope the former happens?

Reagan and Lincoln were so disappointed when we had to tell them that we need to isolate and the realisation that they wouldn’t see Nannie and Boxing day, which they both love and look forward to, wasn’t going to be possible. Reagan went cold on Mommy not wanting to be in the same room as her but warmed back to her throughout the day (well as much as normal anyway) and by the evening they were both excited and wanting to do our traditions Santa snack ? reindeer food ? snowman and snowdog ? santa key ?prayers ? and we might of added another earlier A Boy Called Christmas a great film to get you in the mood.

We will have a great Christmas, it won’t be what we planned but it will be a great Forsters Christmas the ‘rona won’t spoil that we won’t let it!

So we are sat here, the kids have just “gone to bed” so he comes quicker, exactly the reasoning me and are kids used 40 odd years ago but we used to actually fall sleep apparently because we were up just after midnight on Christmas morning, lets just say now that I am split here yes go to bed because we need to do Santa but don’t go to sleep too early because I do not want to get up at 3am any day even if I di say earlier in this blog that your enjoyment is second on my priority list because that list will alter pretty fucking quick if I haven’t even gone for my 5am piss before you want me to get out of bed!!!

May do a Santas been blog later depending on the above timeline otherwise Merry Christmas!

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Worrying about happiness?

Looking through photos for our The Forsters 2022 calendar the photos I am looking for are the ones where we are happy enjoying ourselves and it is a really good experience to look at this years moments captured searching for 12 moments that will portray that our family is living the dream. I have done this for a few years and its always been my thing and we then give the calendars as Christmas presents, and everyone seems to love them.

The fallout this year was how I felt afterwards and I can’t remember having these negative feelings in the past?

The feelings I am talking about is fear, fear that I am not doing enough for my family to make them as happy as they are in the moments all the time? I am aware that these thoughts are ridiculous (I hope) but they are the dark thoughts I have a lot of, at times, and it’s always about my families happiness and my responsibility for it! My happiness I feel comes a lot from them being happy and when I look at lots and lots of moments filtering those moments down to about 50 and then 12 makes me think life has to be always like those 12 moments and this makes me feel pressure when I look at the effort it takes to make those moments.

I worry that I have to try harder to make my family happy and I found myself asking the kids if they are happy as if they were going to give me the in depth inciteful answer I was looking for to put my mind at ease.

Reagan said: Yes I am going to drama club tonight, duh!
Lincoln said: Of course, schools finished, can I have a Coke…..please?

Tonight I made them happy, I made them both the teas they asked for and we sat and watched Strictly the food was good but the time we spent together was great I was hilarious OBVS! and we just enjoyed each others company. No photos no forced smiles for the camera but a moment made that will only ever exist in our heads (and here in this blog post) proof worrying is wasted time but I still do….?

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Just need the photo…

I remember taking the original photo but I don’t remember what they were waiting for, Mommy was not there maybe it was Mommy, anyway I took it and then each year I have taken the same photo each Thanksgiving. I hope I can continue doing this for many many years to come! I love these two more than they’ll ever know and watching them grow and become the people they are going to become.

  • 2014
  • 2021

They are both such beautiful happy people and I am so proud of how they are turning out.

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Thanksgiving 2021

Jamie added the Facebook post below and I just though no matter what I write today this would sum it up better

We had such an amazing thanksgiving and felt so lucky to be able to bring the family back around the table to celebrate together. A few people were missing and obviously my family is 5000 miles away but none are ever far from our thoughts and never far from our prayers. Thank you to all the well wishers today as well! I am endlessly grateful for my life here thank you so much Alan ?

I did today sober and it was made easy because I drove Dad Liz Uncle Karl and Nannie which I have said before switches a thing in my head and once that happens I’m OK ?

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Gymnastics

I watched Lincoln at gymnastics last week and was amazed how supple he was, even after 12 months out he stood with his back to the wall leant back put his hands on it and walked them down to the floor into crab as if he hadn’t been away?

This week it was:

Warm up stretches
Floor: forward and backwards roll into stand, handstand
Low Beam: jump crouch turn to face opposite direction
1m Beam: Walk jump along beam and dismount
Springboard: On to 0.5m block to stand and handstand dismount to mat
Floor: Handstands and hold against soft wall
Warm down stretches

As I watched I thought they would have to call me an ambulance, halfway through me attempting the warm up stretches! I would either be experiencing severe chest pains or would require a body board to avoid further spinal injuries. Lincoln just glides through all the exercises barely breaking sweat (well he does sweat a bit, it’s a Miller thing apparently) and another thing I notice was while he’s gliding he is making friends with all his fellow gymnasts? Yet again I am thinking if I had actually been able to manage to walk into that gym as a 10 year old I wouldn’t have been able to talk to anyone for weeks until I had assessed everyone thoroughly but not Lincoln he is so sociable and likeable, he gets that from his mom.

I just love the fact that he is who he is and enjoys himself in everything he does!

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