Friday 4 December 2009

No Ordinary Friday

When the doorbell rang and I opened it and found this:


I knew I was in for a treat. Look carefully and you might spot a glimpse of one of my favourite visitors, just peeping round the corner. When the rest of him appeared he said hello, as always, with his own sticky, one handed salute. It was Little E! And he'd come to stay for the night!

When I was expecting The Small One, friends said, "don't worry about loving your second baby. They bring a lot of love with them." Which is right, of course. And good. But no one warns you about the stuff. All babies bring stuff. And that bit, like labour, tends to wear off as the years pass. So the luggage came as a bit of a surprise. In fact, as we hefted it into the house, my sister and I, I wondered if I'd got it all wrong. Was he here for the month? Was he being offered as some kind of early Christmas present? But no. "Don't forget," his Mum said (slightly out of breath, I thought) "We need the whole lot back tomorrow. Oh, and his car seat. You have to have that too." And she hauled it across the driveway, spraying toast crumbs and bits of apple as she went.

So, in he came. And much fun was had by all. The Small One got back from school. Still dressed in her Games Kit, still ready to play. And Little E smiled and saluted and danced his special sideways, rocking dance. Then The Tall One arrived. And I watched as my big boy flicked his great shock of hair in a casual man-to-man greeting; folded himself onto the sofa; and gently lifted his baby cousin onto his lap. And it came to me then that all those weeks and months and years of singing and rocking, listening and nodding, playing and teaching..they were all meant for a moment like this. I couldn't think of a single thing to say. So I just watched.

Today I'm Loving..This tutorial from Gigi Kennedy. Recycled wax crayons. Beautifully wrapped. Perfect for a Christmas Fair.

15 comments:

melissa said...

I love this story! you must be doing a wonderful job raising your children :)

humel said...

That brought a tear to my eye :-) Thanks for sharing x

scrappyjacky said...

Wonderful........and,yes,I am now remembering all that STUFF!!

Tinkertaylor said...

What a moving moment it brought a lump to my throat. I can remember feeling like this when DS1 helped DS2 with his maths gcse. I just thought maybe the university fees weren't wasted after all

Maria Ontiveros said...

Isn't it bloody fantastic when the kiddos act grown up and kind and polite and wonderful and all the things you hoped they would be???

That is a wonderful thing about teen-agers.

rinda (whose best visitors today will be the cleaners)

Casey Wright said...

Great Story Sian! I love the photo - I see a Bumbo in there too! Those are quite familiar to us in our house!

Fun Mama - Deanna said...

How sweet! I love it when boys show their nurturing side.

I always get a lot of flack for the amount of stuff I feel compelled to take on trips for my daughter. It's such a "better-safe-than-sorry" mentality.

catrin said...

Little e says, Love you Auntie Sian xxx

Micayla said...

I love this story and being a mother with a small one I know what a trip to the shops is like let alone a night out.....I would pack for days!!

Amy said...

You've reminded me to savour the moments - that are passing too quickly - with my own little ones.

Jools said...

I love the way you write. It emotes!

Thanks for sharing this :D

Fun Mama - Deanna said...

There is an award for you today at my blog. Thank you for being so real in your writing!

Lizzie said...

The story is lovely. Made me cry (just a teeny bit!). My "Small One" is not so big yet (he's 12), and we had hung onto a lot of stuff, as you do...
Anyway, now there's a pram, a high-chair, a mini-rocking horse, a playmat and a toybox in our house again. Still got a travel cot, car seat etc in the loft.
Baby E is one and brings her own nappies etc, but it saves her parents having to cart all the rest!

I love how J is with his baby cousin. They are such friends and he makes her laugh and laugh. He's very gentle and kind with her too, though happy to romp if required. Her mummy (my niece) was 12 when he was born and was J's friend too. It's wonderful to see it come full-circle.

Unknown said...

This post just made me go "awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww!" Sweet!

Anonymous said...

Superb writing, Sian! Delightful story :) x alexa

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