Today both kids were up before us. Normally this would result in a sudden jolt into consciousness, but this morning we were awoken gently (at first) to the sounds of play, before it quickly (and inevitably) escalated to shouts and screams. Then we really were awake!
James was going to spend the day at Grandma Lindsey and Grandad Lawrie’s house – he was already aware of this and was incredibly excited. This excitement was raised to a fever pitch when I explained that he was going to have breakfast and a bath at their house meaning he was going to depart in his pyjamas. Aside from his palpable excitement, not having to get him fed or dressed certainly also the morning a little less frantic for us!
The following is Grandad Lawrie’s report of James’s escapades for the day.
For some weeks, James has been mentioning the Lego/Mega Bloks pirate ships and accessories that have been sitting in boxes waiting to be reassembled and played with. So, imagine his surprise when it was all laid out on the living room carpet awaiting his arrival. His eyes lit up when he saw the cannons and he immediately put them into action. As he had not played with them for ages, the pirate ships kept him busy for several very happy and industrious hours!
It was then decided that James had been sitting on the carpet for too long and needed some exercise. He immediately asked to play ten pin bowling on the Wii and scored a strike with the very first bowl. The next few rounds were not quite as successful, but James very clearly is getting better at the game and will, no doubt, enjoy his first taste of bowling in a real alley! It was inevitable that he would ask to play the Japanese sword fighting game as well and, at the end of jumping up and down and waving his arms around aggressively for twenty minutes, he was certainly well exercised.
Auntie Grandma Margaret Lodge popped in for a socially distanced cup of tea and a chat with Grandma Lindsey; a visit James was delighted with when he discovered that she had brought a cake with her – yummy!
Once James was dispatched, it was time to make sure Genevieve was ready for school and attempt to leave on time. This was almost managed, until she decided that her cuddly lion needed to accompany us to school. Cue serious negotiations to ensure our speedy departure from the house.
We arrived at school on time but seemingly after all the other children. Although the drop off isn’t supposed to happen until 8.50am, I’m pretty sure that most arrive around 8.45am. This also happens at collection. It makes timekeeping tricky to ensure that we arrive and leave with Genevieve’s friends or all hell breaks loose.
Today was proof of this. The child in front of us had only returned to school the day before and so was very anxious about going into school. This resulted in a teary goodbye as he left his parents. At seeing him distressed, Genevieve decided she didn’t want to go to school either and started to cry and cling to my legs with a vice-like grip!
The real difficulty with this predicament is that the teachers are not allowed to touch the children at the moment, so there was no gentle hand-holding allowed to get her into the room. It was all down to my persuasion skills. Thankfully, I seem to be better than I give myself credit for and managed to get her into the room. I then ran like the wind to stop her from trying to bolt from the room and follow me!
In the meantime, Stephen was logging in to work for the first time since being signed off again. Having learned from his mistakes last week (which resulted in him being signed off again after only two days back) he took things very slow and steady, and once it got to 12:30pm he closed his laptop and stopped thinking about work. I know he’s going to find that hard to keep up, but it’s the only way he’s going to get back to normal.
Once home, I had just started to make my student calls when my friend Gemma messaged to say she was just walking to Petts Wood to drop off a parcel, and to ask if I wanted anything from Morrisons. After a quick deliberation, I decided to join her on the walk as I also had a parcel to drop off, and I was dying to try the new coffee bar that apparently sold the best milkshakes.
The walk was lovely and the milkshake was utterly delicious, and to make things even better I managed to make it home in time to finish all my calls before midday. Winning!
I then proceeded to multitask training while sorting/cleaning some new secondhand books I had bought for the children, before then having lunch and going to collect Genevieve from school. I know how to pack a lot into the day!
Once Genevieve had been collected from school (including the now standard walk through the woods with her friends), there was just enough time for a bath before my weekly teachers’ meeting. Thankfully this finished earlier than expected and so I was able to join Genevieve and Stephen to walk up to the bike shop to collect our newly serviced bikes.
On the way we stopped to say hello to the friendly neighbourhood monkey. He was celebrating a couple’s wedding anniversary – how cute!
It was raining so any normal person would quickly move on (even the monkey was in a rain poncho), but Genevieve wanted to record a “bit” with the cuddly toys. Bless!
The real excitement happened on the way back home. In spite of the earlier rain, we heard the ice-cream van somewhere close. We couldn’t pinpoint exactly where it was coming from, so Genevieve and I jumped in the car and went to find it. Thankfully it turned out to only be around the corner and so we both indulged!
It was soon time for Genevieve’s dinner and for James to be dropped home. Thankfully both children were calm for “The Christmas Tale of Peter Rabbit”, their new bedtime story. A real classic for July don’t you think? The calm continued and they both stayed in bed, so Stephen and I were able to enjoy our dinner, watch a spot of telly, and then head to bed early.
Actually, there was one last spanner in the works that slightly delayed us getting in to bed. James had moved himself from the comfort of his bed and was spreadeagled on the floor. Stylish.
With James sorted, I’m relieved to say that the day was done. Night all!
The Smiths Family Blog 
Happy days
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