Allora, il mio marito è italiano (ma è cresciuto a Luton).

Purtroppo, io non capisco l’italiano. Studio, ma da solo è noioso. Ma ora la mia figlia bisognio di studiare l’italiano! E quando mia figlia vuole fare qualcosa, noi la facciamo!

Translation 

So, my husband is Italian (but grew up in Luton).

Unfortunately, I don’t understand Italian. I study, but it’s boring alone. But now my daughter needs to study Italian. And when my daughter wants to do something, we do it!

Last week, my daughter decided she needed her own bit of garden.

Now, here in the UK it’s been raining for a hundred years. The ground is sodden. Outside is damp and mossy and miserable and I’d prefer to pretend it doesn’t exist until June.

But I bought her some plants and I showed her the tools. And off she went. She needed help. I was grumpy and grudging and we fell out, because all of our RSD is turned up to ten. But she persisted.

And it’s beautiful.

And it made me do a little bit more weeding and tidying, and it was even nice. Until the skies opened again.

Yesterday she decided to paint the porch. I was reluctant, although I tried to be supportive. It felt like a big job and I’m poorly. We fell out. And then we bought paint, and she painted it with a bit of help. It looks great.

The same happened with the bathroom last year. She cleaned the tiles and suddenly we decided maybe we could just repaint it rather than redo the whole thing. And so I spent two weeks painting it and we re-did the floor and it’s great.

Spot the theme? She is so determined, it’s very hard to say no.

One of the common ADHD screening questions is ‘do you feel driven like by a motor’. Er, yes. And her energy pulls us along with her.

Which is fortunate, because my husband and I are overwhelmed by the immensity of renovating this neglected house and garden. So we do nothing. But we’ll do anything for our kids. 

And it’s not just house stuff. I’m doing regular skin care and taking care of my hair. I do more craft. Cook more. I am caught up in her ADHD whirlwind, not always willingly, but the results are the same.

Life is more.

Which is how, despite many many attempts over the 20 years of being with someone half-Italian, I am consistently doing my Duolingo. 100 day streak. I wrote the opening paragraph with only a little bit (okay a lot!) of help from Google. I understand it, though.

The learning doesn’t come easily, my memory is awful, my pronunciation worse. I still can’t talk in Italian to my family (so embarrassing!) but it’s a start. 

Grazie figlia 😊