The Summer of Eighteen

{Megs and friends over Whit}

Megs finished her A Levels on Monday - but college isn't quite over.

Next week is SHOW WEEK (it's always spoken in capitals - like Death on the DiscWorld)

So rehearsals are in full swing.

Tonight we watched her perform in a concert at St Lukes -

afterwards I dropped her at Jamies.

As we drove into West Bank Jamie's sister spotted her -

 screamed her name and chased the car.

Megs is taking them to school tomorrow with Jamie-

{parents are off at Glastonbury}

then she's off to Manchester to meet Abbie -

and on to a Euro Referendum Party in Altrincham -

then she's back to Widnes on Friday - and off to Tab's to help her over a break up.

An 18th party Friday night - and sleeping over at Tabs.

I trust I will see her Saturday - we are meant to be seeing Into the Woods in Leeds -

then from Sunday morning it is off to Centre Stage for the madness that is SHOW WEEK.

When that ends, it's the 1st of July, Ben's 15th birthday -

and so nearly her 18th.

The rest of the summer - her summer of eighteen - 

is looking to be a mass of trips and friends -

and two precious weeks with us at the caravan.

And as autumn comes she is going to Uni.

I remember my summer of eighteen.

Finding myself with a boyfriend - extremely unexpectedly  - on the 12th of July.

A couple of days later going to the French Alps -

with my parents and brother-

 for nearly 3 weeks -

driving across Europe in a bright red hire car.

{The night before we left I borrowed my parents car to drive past the end of the the road where my boyfriend of a couple of days lived - I could barely breathe}

In France we walked and swam and and did all the trips my dad had planned-

(and rode an amazing toboggan)

I read The Lord of the Ring in 4 days flat -

and on the way home we had an insane day - planned by my Dad - 

intense sightseeing in Paris with a side trip to Versaille in the evening.

All the time we were away I thought about that boyfriend-

I mused that if we married (married!) I had family members with the same surname as him -

that would be confusing at the church.

I came home - I didn't see him that all that much as he was working -

but we had fun together - it was good and we saw some GREAT movies!

Yet come the autumn - and freak car accident - our future together was fixed.

My summer of eighteen is a lifetime ago - 

My summer of eighteen was yesterday.

Meg's summer of eighteen is just beginning

.And where will it lead?