Diversity 

There is quite a age gap between my boys.

My eldest is 20 yrs old,my middle one is just 16 and my youngest is 9.

I always wanted my children close together,three under five would have been my ideal age gap but things don't often work out as you plan do they?

In fact more often than not a curveball is thrown and life takes a much different path to what you envisaged when you were busy making plans and dreaming of happy little families and Walton type existences.

And so the story goes that I ended up with my children spaced out and I'm so glad I did!

I'm glad because it's made my time of being a mother to young children a incredibly long one.My eldest boy is not even a teen anymore (how that can be!) and yet still I have a young child in juniors.

So I'm still doing harvest boxes and Christmas Concerts and dress up days,long after many of my friends who had children the same age as T and S have stopped these kinda things.
And I think I needed this long time at mothering,needed to get it out my system,left up to me I would have had loads of children,I so enjoy them and being a mum.
The big age gap between the boys has meant that I have been able to be a mum to little ones for a long time.

I don't think I have left the school playground for long,only a gap of a year when Sharky went to comp ,this was quickly followed by Chipmunk starting nursery so I was never away for long.

And the reason why I wrote this post and started thinking about this was Saturday Night.

I had a good day on Saturday and a good bedtime with Chipmunk,it was all cuddles,smiles,I love yous and a chapter of his bestest book of the moment 'The Wishing Chair' all well and good and then I came downstairs and started with the teens.

This is a different ball game altogether 'smiles wryly.'

This is the domain of take away pizzas,tv trash,energy drinks. 

Totally different! 

 Slouching is the name of the game and everything is in easy reach,drinks,food,the remote,so they don't have to move a inch more than necessary.Perhaps this is not such a bad idea after all!
The body language is slothy but the conversation is definitely not!
Its sharp and quick witted and full of banter.

There are cups lying on the floor just waiting to be kicked over,plastic bags full of junk food,food that doesn't have to be prepared,snacky kind of food ~ crisps,chocolate,prawn crackers,ice cream which is eaten out of the tub shared between boyfriend and girlfriend.
At a push there may be micro meals,they involve work though so it depends what mood they are all in to whether they appear.

Teens come alive at night,it is the best time of day to talk to them for sure and programmes such as X Fac,I'm A Celebrity or BGT bring families together,it's a nice chance for us to sit and natter the night away.

And thats just what we did...ate junk,watched junk tv and chatted happily.

And when I went to bed that night I thought about how different the parenting here is....from my little one to my biggest one,and how both age groups intermingle in this house,quite a balancing act at times!

But with advantages too.

Having two older children made me so aware of how time flies and this in turn made me really appreciate my youngest growing up,I knew just how fleeting this time is and having a youngster around the house has bought out a level of care in the older boys which is brilliant to see and melts me.

Definitely not the age gap I would have chosen but still good and in a funny sort of way perfect for me!