Hai Ya

My Dear Fellows & Dear Princess Normal,

It turns out that Lemon is the same age as me. Well, one month younger actually. "Ya old bastard," she commented.

But she's a great deal more active. She does karate! Apparently she started it as a teenager when she was more rebellious, and the sensei used to walk up and down the ranks, armed with a jandal.

"I was always getting walloped," said Lemon. "I was such a smartarse."

So a couple of years after her boys started, she decided to join their class. "Well, I was dropping them off there every Tuesday anyway," she reasoned.

"No mum, no! You'll ruin it!" they pleaded. But she was determined.

It turns out that it's a bit awkward because all the students are kids, apart from Lemon. And the lowest ranked student has to take orders from the higher ranks.

"Some bloody 8 year old told me to drop and give her ten push-ups last night," Lemon commented sourly. "Then she made me sweep the floor."

But Lemon gets her revenge when sparring. It turns out that while karate is all about speed and movement, size does actually matter too. "With the little kids, I usually just push them, I don't actually punch them," she told me. "But one bloody teenager kicked me and it HURT, so I knocked him flat on his arse."

"Good one," the teenager said, pulling himself up off the floor. So she shoved him down again.

"It's like legal bullying," she told me. 

I actually think it is pretty cool that she does this, and she's got some of the other parents interested now too. Of course, it still doesn't sit well with her boys. When they were lining up in order of rank the other day, she was apparently moved by a 12 year old girl.

"And I was all like, I don't bloody THINK so," said Lemon. "But then the little bugger waved her belt at me and she had blue tips on there."

So she moved down the rank and the 12 year old turned her nose and shuffled in ahead of Lemon. 

"Shame, mum. SHAME," commented one of her boys.

"I'll bloody make him tidy his room for that this weekend," Lemon told me.

At least we have moved on from the days of The Jandal.

S.

p.s. Do you like today's picture? I was very proud of myself. I don't often take good pictures. This tui was totally posing for me though. Look at him, he's all smiley!