Lots of Fun in the Sun

What a lovely day it has been. I woke up and heard the beautiful sound of bird song and saw the sun peeking between the gap in the curtains knowing I had a day with my lovely little Lucy and two of her beautiful sisters to look forward to.

The school send off went well. Catherine left early to play with her friends in the school playground before school and even Emily managed to get to school without forgetting anything. She was even on time for a change.

The day with Lucy was started off with a lovely trip to Langham park where she had loads fun of on the slide, on swings while sitting on my lap and doing the assault course including the rope bridge again! This was mixed with kicking the ball round the park and laughing with joy. What was really lovely was seeing Lucy make friends with a little boy of the same age as her. They followed each other everywhere laughing, giggling and generally having fun together. It was nice for me to have someone grown up to share in the fun she having. I chatted to the boys mother as they played sharing stories of their antics of climbing and growing up. Lucy and her new friend were so happy in there little kingdom of fun and it was sweet hearing them say each others name when saying their goodbyes as we set off back home. Hopefully they will meet up on another day and play again. They are the little king and queen of the park.

For lunch we had some lovely sausage rolls. While they warmed up we danced as we listened the Cantaloop (Flip Fantasia) by Us3 with little happy shouts of “Again Daddy, Again”. Lucy had great fun at the table learning to cut her sausage rolls with her little knife and fork. Come to think of it so did George under the table hovering up what she dropped. I’m sure he follows Lucy round just in case she drops something he can eat. He is such a cheeky westie at times, but she adores him.

After dinner Lucy had a ice lolly and while I drank my coffee and we planed where we are going to grow some runner beans together. In the end we decided on the spot where the herb garden was last year. We are going to use the existing frame as supports for some poles between which we will run string for the plants to grow up. Last years crop went to waste at Kizzy’s allotment as did all the vegetables sadly, especially after all the work she put into it. It was such a waste. This year it is going to be fun growing things with the girls. I’m not a natural gardener but I’m going to have to learn.

Not wanting to spend such a lovely day in the house and around it we set off for Oakham as soon as we could to spend some time in the park there.

Lucy just loves the park and this time I remember something to take some pictures. Once again she just couldn’t wait to get playing on the climbing frames, the roundabout and all the other rides there. Quickly she was making friends with all the other children and charming the other parents as she played with their children. She would start by following them around and then start encouraging then to play with her which the other children happily did. It amazes me how they form friendships so easily and just enjoy each others company for the brief time they are together. It’s just lovely to see the pleasure they get from having fun. We spent a good hour and more in the park and not at one time did she get bored and nor did I. In fact, to get her leave the park I had to use the promise of an ice lolly when we got home.

I would have loved to stayed longer but two of her sisters wanted to see her as soon as they got home from school. That was something I had promised them in the morning.

After a coffee, a quick game of hide and seek round the garden and of course the promised ice lolly, Emily and Catherine came home from school. It is lovely to see Lucy’s face when they come home and the way she runs to greet them with a massive hug. She must miss them. She always asks where they are when I pick her up from her mummy’s in the car in the morning. I know they miss her lots when they don’t see her. Emily and Catherine just love being with her. They race home from school to see who can see her first to say hello to her.

In fact, I can only think of one greeting Emily and Catherine have loved more and that was the time they saw Mary again after months of being parted for the first time in the supermarket in Oakham. What I remember was especially memorable was the way Mary ran to hug Catherine. It was like she was never going to her let go. Emily and Catherine didn’t stop talking about that for days. That was until we saw her in the park. However, hard that was for me and the pain it caused me inside, I had to let them all have sometime together again. They were brought up as sisters and Lucy was meant to unite us all.

Anyway, the big girls quickly changed and it was off out again to Langham park to enjoy the late afternoon sunshine before dinner. It was great to see them all out together. They played on all the things in the park. Catherine and Lucy played on the swing together and they even managed a bit of football after Lucy finally decided to stop carrying her ball and kicked it. While Emily found a younger boy and his dad to play football with and Lucy joined in by cheering on the sidelines. It was a lovely way to spend the last part of the afternoon.

On returning home I cooked dinner for everyone. We had toad-in-the-hole, mini roast potatoes and beans. It was yummy, and so much fun with everyone laughing and having fun at the table. What was really nice was seeing the delight on Lucy’s face as she ate her chocolate coated corn flake cakes which Catherine made her. It is always nice to have a family meal and we do it nearly every evening. The only the exception is if we have “a have what you like night” or piazzas. The table might seem a bit more empty these days that it was in the past but it great eat together at meal times as this meal proved. I guess that is why I never stopped doing it.

For Lucy there was a little playtime left before she returned and with a ice lolly each after dinner I got 10 minutes of rest while I drank my coffee before we got her ready to take her back to her mummy’s. When she left she was all happy and worn out. I know our Lucy will have a goodnights sleep tonight. She really hasn’t stopped all day.

On our return, the house went quiet as it always does after Lucy leaves us. Thankfully that just lasts an evening and things will return back to normal for Emily and Catherine in the morning. For me, well it is different but that a much longer story and not one that will spoil my lovely day. I just miss seeing her grow from day to day among all the other things I miss.

But finally as the sunsets over this happy day in Langham I am left with the one thought about how it has been great way to forget all my troubles and just smile for a while and enjoy lots of fun in the sun.

I hope it is sunny tomorrow....