Free Choice Fimo

Today started better, getting up at 9 instead of 10.30. We went out this afternoon to visit Romy, Tansy and Hazel, but this morning we started off with our Plan Z, which is my list of things to do from which Emily has a free choice. She chose Fimo models from the art and crafts section of the list. What - not maths? Well now, there's a surprise! Actually, we will be doing maths and spelling before the "free choice list" on "normal" days, but today wasn't a normal day since we only had half of it.

Anyway.

We did have a lot of fun making these fimo dragons. It wasn't as easy as it looked in the book (is it ever?) and it took us a whole two hours to get this far, but we were chuffed :-) Emily's is the blue, mine is the yellow.

I think I can see the free choice list thing working reasonably well. Fingers crossed. I'm not sure why I didn't think of this before. It's a list of half a dozen or more "things" per subject, but what she chooses and what order she chooses is up to Emily. I've made a resolution to not say "no" except in dire circumstances (athough I'm sure Grandad will provide plenty of those). It's as close as we're ever going to get to a timetable, but since there's nothing on the list (apart from maths, which isn't voluntary) that she doesn't like and want to do, it's not likely to cause too many issues.

On the way back from Romy's this afternoon, Emily and I went to pick up Grandad's prescription. Gave it to him back at home. Was met with - what, dear readers? A thank you? A grunt? No, a criticism. "I didn't want this until Monday." Honestly. I am now so resentful of this man's attitude that I could just vomit. He spent most of our Easter Sunday dinner expounding on how these bloody Africans just sit around waiting for our money and didn't they know they woudn't have famines if they didn't keep on having babies, they only keep on breeding because they want more handouts. Apparently. It sickens me. His daily belittlement of Jon continues unabated, meanwhile, including recently with much vitriol over who Jon chose to sell his car to. Which is Grandad's business because - ? He has a dig at Emily whenever he thinks he can get away with it, most recently laughing at her for not wanting to spend a night away from home. I do try so hard to "feel the love" and accept that blood, even by marriage, is thicker than water, blah blah blah. But there has to come a point where you draw the line. I've been on the verge of drawing it for years now. Yes, he has issues. At what point was that supposed to stop being his problem and become my problem and my husband's and daughter's problem?

Anyway. Again. Away from today's Mrs Angry rant, I have been reading a lot about Reiki and the principle of "Just for today, do not anger". I can see a huge amount of sense in that philosophy. Far too much of my day is always spent fearing what I have to do in the future or being angry/annoyed/aggrieved about what I have to do. All that anger/annoyance/grievance is bound up with what has happened in the past with any given particular person, this kind of event/experience, whatever. It's actually very empowering to be able to drop that, and to take each day as a fresh start. It's brilliant in theory. Now if only I can learn to put it into practice.