Holy crap!

it's less than a week til my 18th birthday. It is actually five days until I, me, that is, Leah, will be an official adult.

Scary huh?
not so scary is the prospect of using the new 'official adult' status to go out clubbing and buy my own booze - which probably means there will be a lot more rum drinking going on around here, not to mention the vodka (na zdorovye people!).

That said, it seems my education in booze from my parents is really quite middle class. I know little of what people have in shots and I don't drink alco-pops unless they're put in front of me, but I could tell you about why I like Chilean wine more than Australian, and have opinions on ales based on personal experience.
All the drama classes and youth theatre stuff hasn't helped either. I absorbed the speech teacher's advice like a sponge, so I sound pretty middle class too (and am actually known as 'BBC voice' to some people).

But hey, at least I'm not common!

'circle of gratitude'... better than the circle of lust and confusion!

I appear to have been caught in a circle of gratitude with our over-the-road neighbour, Heather.

She asked me to paint a mug for her gran’s 100^th birthday, being very polite and apologetic because it was very short notice. I couldn’t turn her down, not least because she is so very lovely and bought me alcohol last time I babysat for her son (after all, I’m not quite old enough to buy my own yet). So, did the mug, got it to her just before she and her family left for Ireland to celebrate the birthday.

Her husband, Dave (my dad’s best kiting buddy), paid twice what I usually charge for them and then spent the 25 minutes we were there “hinting” that he’d love one, and it was his birthday soon.

While they were away, I did him a mug – he did pay me for two!

They get back, dad takes over the mug and a birthday card, Dave is pleased (and christens his mug with some beer).

Yesterday, after getting back from a trip to Swindon with the Youth Theatre, Heather comes over to watch Mamma Mia with us - living with two guys she hasn’t been able to see it yet, and we’re all about spreading the musical love. She brought with her a card and a little gift bag which she handed to me, saying it was a thank you for doing her gran’s mug at such short notice, and for Dave’s.

In the bag was a jewellers’ gift box, containing a silver chain with the prettiest little ‘floating heart’ type pendant I have ever seen. I don’t know how to thank her for it, especially as this looks like turning into an eternal circle of gratitude, which could lead our descendants to still be saying thank you to one another four generations on. Hopefully babysitting again this week will make up for it.