Sally in her blog My Beautiful Things drew my attention to this project by Transport for London to collect stories of kindness on the Tube. One theme that runs through these stories is that tiny, tiny acts (handing someone a tissue, smiling at a person) make a great difference to someone in distress.
1. It's been a horrendous night -- Alec howled and kicked through the small hours, and then he exploded two nappies between 7.30am and 8am. Swimming is definitely cancelled, and I'm glum at the thought of entertaining a grumpy boy at home with my just own resources. After breakfast, we go back to bed. When we wake up it's after 11am and half the day is gone.
2. A message from Nick: "I'll come home early."
2b. I feel rather sorry for myself because I slept through Alec's nap, so I'm not dressed and the washing is not done. After lunch, Alec falls asleep again. I feel as if I've been given a second chance.
3. I buy a hot chocolate to drink while Alec is on the swings. It's disappointingly insipid -- until I get to the bottom third, which is thick hot chocolate sauce.
4. The other night I woke up with a hankering for an old unfinished story -- just wanted to spend some time in my universe of clockwork airships, wax cylinder recordings and planty aliens. I dig it out, and I can see why I abandoned it, but I can also see where I might want to go next with it.
