Sign-off, stop and toes.
1. Nick's dad signs off our phone conversation with: "Well, I'll let you get back to work," which I liked very much, because sometimes I feel as if society at large doesn't appreciate that looking after a child is work -- and hard work, too.
2. On nursery days I try to put Alec at the centre of the morning, because usually everything else can wait until we're apart. But today I did badly. Now it's time to tidy up and leave, but he is whiny and clinging to my legs. I leave the lunch things on the table and the highchair covered in crumbs to sit with him by the open back door, singing a few rhymes and listening to him with my whole self.
3. Alec laughs when he sees my newly painted toes.
2. On nursery days I try to put Alec at the centre of the morning, because usually everything else can wait until we're apart. But today I did badly. Now it's time to tidy up and leave, but he is whiny and clinging to my legs. I leave the lunch things on the table and the highchair covered in crumbs to sit with him by the open back door, singing a few rhymes and listening to him with my whole self.
3. Alec laughs when he sees my newly painted toes.
#1 I do! Up until my generation, being a Mum was a full time job. Freezers & washing machines made the juggling a little easier, but not much.
ReplyDeletePeople (men) used to ask "Do you work or are you a Mum?" They have no idea, we're all Superwoman, brains the size of planets designed for multi-multi-tasking!
I've recently had two older men -- total strangers that I was chatting idly to -- inform me that they did not approve of sending a baby to nursery. (One of them was a Samaritan, and I was very disappointed that he wasn't able to keep his judgement to himself.)
ReplyDelete#2 - how warm and nice! I can almost picture a mother sitting on the steps with her hand resting protectively and every so lightly on a child's back.
ReplyDeletePerhaps he would appreciate having his toes painted.
ReplyDelete