Hey 🙂
I am coming to this screen late, having spent all day endeavouring to keep the kids happily away from devices. The weather has been glorious, which helped a lot.
Our boys have: ridden on their bikes and scooters, had time walking with a parent each, squabbled over helping me prep/stir/splop fruit muffins to be eaten after dinner, marvelled at the bumpy covers on the notebooks that arrived for them, talked a lot about how yummy fruit is and how excited they are to be promised smoothies tomorrow, helped the hatching dino out of its ‘egg’ that is slowly expanding in a glass of water…and the scallywags trashed the playroom together at least twice!
My journal prompt for the 6th of May asks me to ponder a career achievement I have made. This segued into the below:
Each baked-on crust
A perfect clust-
er of my frazzled deeds,
A tugged apron
(Strings frayed), a con,
As out of chores they plead.
This signifies
My many “why?!”s
Are not far off the mark;
I turn and say
(To my dismay)
“C’mon, let’s hit the park…”
It was a magical mystery tour with Eldest that I ended up suggesting in reality – he sometimes just needs to go wandering for a few miles, in order to get him in a better mood and away from bickering with his brother.
Eldest took me down the cycle path and across the main road, through a big field and over the stile to the canal towpath. We walked homewards from there, loving the sun warming our backs while we watched all the lambs on the opposite bank calling for their mothers and snuggling in for milk.
Just before the final path down to our neighbourhood, however, Eldest spotted a steep shortcut up a grassy slope that would take us to the start of a bridge across the canal. After a bit of briar negotiation, he made it up and was eager to explore. I scrambled after him, and pointed out that it was already getting near dinnertime, and that we were so close to our usual path, etc. Eldest did acquiesce, but his eyes slayed me and it was such a lovely late afternoon…
Over the bridge there were fields of sheep and cattle on both sides at first, but that soon gave way to a forested area, where our dirt path continued. Wooden walkways had been provided for rather marshier parts, and Eldest was both curious about and dismissive of these. I was loving the light play through the leaves and wanting to take pictures, Eldest kept pressing onwards!
Eventually, just as I was beginning to worry that we were a little lost and had maybe taken a few too many turns through the trees to remember our way back (!) we emerged into a housing estate. I let Eldest lead me into a tangle of a few more windy pavements, but then we decided to stop and type a street name into Google maps to ascertain how far from dinner we had wandered.
It turned out we were in the next village to ours, and an estimated 29 minutes (1.1 miles) from home. Eldest smiled and took my hand, and we discussed all the different types of housing stock we could see, how people laid out their gardens and what we would maybe try to take in on our next walk, as we headed for the long road down to the train station, and more familiar territory.
We’d left around 4.30pm and clattered in at 6pm – absolutely ravenous – to Youngest saying “Yaay! You’re just in time for tea!” and Hubby loading our plates! (Luckily Youngest had been a little less adventurous and only asked to walk around the block with his dad…)
With a family chase-me stint in our street this morning, stories of two different expeditions to share over dinner, and homemade muffins to savour for dessert, I think this was a pretty fulfilling day for all concerned. Who needs screens when you have sunshine and each other?!
*Still pats her lovely red laptop to ensure its loyalty…*
[I am currently journaling (and writing poems) around prompts from The Year Of You: 365 Journal Writing Prompts For Creative Self Discovery by Hannah Braime – Kindle ASIN: B076Z6Y5L9]
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May 7th, 2018 at 3:26 am
Enjoyed this hugely.