PLAYTIME

It was so cold yesterday morning, and I was a bit tired, and I couldn't face taking the children swimming: getting undressed and dressed in a cold changing room.  That's at least two or three times I've told them I'll take them swimming and then reneged on my promise.  Son in particular was about to get really upset, until Husband said we'd go shopping to spend the money my Grandmother sent us and to get Son a Puffle: which seems to be the latest just-in-time-for-Christmas-separate-you-from-your-money craze from Disney.  In fact I was somewhat appalled when Son also admitted that one of the reasons he no longer wishes to go to Drama on a Thursday after school is because he wants to be able to go online to 'Penguin Club' and meet up with his friends.  Hmmm.... 

That, and the fact that he spent his share of the money from my Grandmother on a Space Lander or something (a Warhammer 40k model vehicle), is reminiscent of Husband's interest in Warhammer as a boy and to World of Warcraft... though to be fair we were probably both slightly addicted to World of Warcraft at one point.  Like Father, like Son....

And like Mother, like Daughter.  I don't know at what age my stage-struckedness started, but Daughter's appears to have just commenced.  We had Guest Passes for the Pantomime (Sleeping Beauty) at the Sands, Carlisle, yesterday evening and at several points throughout the show she turned to grin at me, and was jigging away to some of the songs.  On the way home in the car she told me she wanted to be on the stage - before falling asleep.  I would have no objections to her going on the stage so long as she gets a good education first and so long as she is pragmatic enough to realise that she may need to do more mundane work whilst 'resting', or to supplement her income.  Personally I think she's more likely to be a singer than an actress, but who knows.

We woke up to temperatures of -8 or so this morning, and headed out to Penrith Pirates.  I'm not really that fond of it but we were going for lunch at my former workplace, so it made sense to go there.  As luck would have it we bumped into Stone Eden holiday club, which meant that Daughter got to see a couple of her friends, one of whom is also a friend of Son's.

We then headed to my former office in time for a bring and share lunch.  It was really nice to see everyone, including L. who had a baby on New Year's Day last year, and who brought her nearly-one-year-old daughter with her.  I hadn't seen her since just before she went on maternity leave, and motherhood is obviously agreeing with her: it was also good to be reminded what I'll be going through in about a year's time!  One- and two- year olds are dead cute, even if they are hard work in that you need to keep an eye on them all the time: and I love seeing their development from non-walking non-talking beings to little people who start to develop a real mind of their own as soon as they can go where they want rather than where you choose to plonk them.

We then drove back via Lazonby and Kirkoswald to Brampton.  It was far snowier further south than at this northernmost end of the Pennines, and looked lovely: thick enough snow to be a dense, bright white in colour: trees glistening as if they had been painted with white glitter paint: and a sun shining from a coldly pale blue sky.  I fancied being out on my bike cycling through it, though I know in reality that my fingers and toes would have been unbearably cold and that in fact the 20 or 30 miles it is by that route from Penrith to Brampton would have become a grind rather than enjoyable.  Even to be out walking would be good though: it's so icy I'm being cautious and not risking going out at the moment lest I fall over: and also because I don't really have any clothes that fit me well enough to keep me really warm!

The children are in the bath and need to get out, and the soup's cooking and needs to be eaten: so I shall stop now.  I wish I had been able to take a photo as I drove back today but I'm sure there are plenty of similar scenes that anyone reading this can conjure up!