I even got to celebrate Daniel’s Birthday!

Monday morning and I am still here. Daniel thinks I am on some Moslem death list after my last blog post! I told him that I also have freedom of speech and that I have the right to have an opinion. If I shut up and do not say what I think, then I will be like all the Germans, that after the war, said that they did never agree with Hitler. Sure! They might not have agreed with him, but if you don’t voice your opinion, then you do agree. Or don’t care, which is even worse. To not have an opinion is almost criminal. Had enough people in Germany stood up during the 1930s, he would never have come to power in the first place. The Nazi party would have stayed a little protest party in Bayern and among other things, 6 million Jews would have been spared ghettos, concentration camps and death, not to mention all the millions of young boys who could have danced the jitterbug instead of becoming canon fodder .

So I said my piece. This weekend they had more interviews on the news. One sign said “Islam will rule the world!” on it and I had to point it out to Daniel, that no matter how scared one is, one has to speak up. One person spoken to said that this is only the beginning, what they really are after, are the American oil companies. Well, well…

On a happier note, we celebrated Daniel’s 18th Birthday yesterday. He was all sulky about it for weeks but then came to the realization that it would not be any fun to celebrate today when he is not out of school until 18:00, and “Cookie” dances till 19:00. The little ones would be asleep before we could even get the cake on the table. So after Church yesterday, we came home with Johannes and his bicycle in tow, and had dinner. We had my homemade ice-cream cake which is Daniel’s favourite and then we went out to the living room so he he could unwrap his presents. We had to explain our “strange” conversation to Johannes. When Daniel and I stood in the “Paratrooper”, at “Dead Man’s Corner” in Normandy, in July, he drooled over all the things in the shop but did not want to spend any of his own money that he had brought. I had already bought him a thing here and a thing there, so I did not really feel up to buying him expensive military paraphernalia! But he stood there and looked at things longingly. Especially at a WWII helmet and a pair of tank driver goggles. We could not stand there forever looking at things he did not want to spend HIS money on, so I ended up telling him that he could have them for his Birthday. A couple of weeks ago, he told me that he wanted a yellow hoodie from H&M and black jeans. He needed the jeans. But H&M no longer had the yellow hoodies. I ended up buying black jeans and a clear blue hoodie, for his Birthday. (He was with me to try things on so I don’t buy the wrong size!) So he knew what he was getting but I had told him that he must act surprised or his younger siblings would be disappointed. This is what had to be explained to Johannes, his over-enthusiasm over the presents! But he was happy! Very much so! “Kitty” and “Boo” were very impressed with the helmet. It was a lot of things, but at the same time, since I was diagnosed with the thyroid problems that makes me so entirely exhausted, he has helped out a lot by cooking dinner when he has had the time and he has baby sat without complaining. He does things for me without me having to beg for it. It’s more than “Dollie” does who usually does not lift a finger no matter how much you beg for help. He deserved the extras. And after all, it is an important date isn’t it, to come of age. He is so excited about getting to vote in the US election. I can happily say that I have now turned him totally against Mitt Romney. Do I get a bonus for that, President Obama?

I also gave him a book that I accidentally forgot to give him last Birthday. It’s called “Rich Relations”. I didn’t know if he was going to like it since it is really my field, this thing about the impact of the US G.I.’s in Britain 1942-1945. But he was really delighted. Especially my inscription of “Happy 18th Birthday Daniel from mamma. But although you are now an ‘adult’ you will always be my little teddy bear”. He loved it.

Johannes had gone out of his way to get his brother nice things as well: “Saving Private Ryan”, “The Hindenburg” and “Enemy at the gate”. All on DVD. “Cookie” had bought him chocolate and “Kitty” had made him a card and a boomerang sort of thing that he had seen made on TV. When done with unwrapping and hugging, we got the crisps, cheese doodles and peanut rings out and all the children sat on needles to see what film I had bought. It was “Rio”. It was a really funny film. “Sparky” danced around to all the Samba rythms. He is such a funny “baby”!!! Luckily the children didn’t really understand what the two blue birds were supposed to do. There was one scene on a tram roof that the other birds misunderstood and Daniel was quick to ask me if this was  really an appropriate film for the children to see. Yes, the birds in the film misunderstood what they saw, us grown ups did understand and were happy that it soon was over. I told Daniel that luckily the younger ones did not understand. Apart from that scene it was a great film. I guess we will watch that now every day till they get bored of it, in usual fashion. It was already put on at 6:00 this morning and I had to turn it off, to get them to get ready for school.