It’s been so sunny here this week we’ve been able to spend so much time outdoors in the garden, eating petals and soil (baby gal), making ridiculously complicated obstacle courses (first born), reading the paper (husband), and mowing through the lawnmower cable (yours truly). Yes, there I was one minute, having just put my daughter down for a nap, feeling like I was on top of things, cutting the grass, enjoying the glorious weather, loving my garden, then oh, the power cut out and the air turned blue!
Minor problems aside, isn’t it great to live a little more outside? Some of my happiest childhood memories are of playing out with my sister or my friends, in the paddling pool, lounging on the swinging bed (remember those? How retro), or playing swingball marathons at the bottom of the garden. As I crawl round the garden, picking trodden in pink play doh out of the grass, clambering over boxes of husband’s medical equipment in the shed to get to a bicycle pump, or bribing first born to tidy at least some of his toys away, I hope these are the kinds of things they remember when they’re older. Rather that than the regular cries from their mum of “listen, I’ve told you now five times, now please just do it!” Or another favourite, “no don’t pick her up, please only if she’s in danger, look she can’t breathe! If she’s crying it means she doesn’t want to be picked up!”
Now my baby gal is growing bigger, it’s heart-meltingly lovely to see her and her brother play together like this. It’s moments like this when I think giving our son a little sister truly is the best thing about having a second child.
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