Yesterday we got up early to take the small cousins swimming. My son refused to swim with us. He claims he’s not keen on swimming, which is surprising as he was a good swimmer in his childhood. So it was me, my daughter-in-law and one grandchild from our end and my daughter, her middle daughter - the 18 year old I-am-an-adult-now one - and the two smallest from my daughter’s household, all meeting outside the pool in Ashton. As we waited for my daughter’s party to arrive, my son and his little girl were indulging in a bit of almost-parcour, running across the pavement and leaping onto a raised grassy area. This is not the sort of activity recommended to a 40+ year old without some kind of preparatory limbering up. But it’s the sort of thing small daughters challenge their fathers to join in with. Which he did with enthusiasm. Consequently he put his back out somewhat and, after sitting in a cafe in the town centre while we swam, had to seek out painkillers as he had stiffened up while he waited.
My 7 year old granddaughter showed off her newly acquired skill of crossing the pool with minimum support. The almost 5 year old decided she had to emulate her older cousin and agreed to get her feet off the floor and have a go at kicking her legs. And the almost two year old get over his initial fear of the water and did a bit of splashing. The 18 year old and I had a bit of proper swimming for the first time in ages and agreed that we must do this more often on her days off from her temporary job. All in all, a good time was had by all.
Afterwards we went off and had lunch in Marks and Spencer’s cafe, followed by just a little retail therapy. By the time we got home my son had seriously stiffened up and had to lie down on the floor, hugging his knees to his chest for a while. Meanwhile, family reunions continued apace. My brother-in-law dropped in to say hello. The small girl cousins, almost 5 and 7, reestablished their friendship from before covid and disappeared to play happily. The 5 year old discovered the attic bedroom, a bit of the house she had never seen before, despite having roamed around the rest of the house forever. She was delighted and somewhat indignant to find that this new-to-her bit of house existed!
This morning the southern branch of the family has departed, heading back to be reunited with their kittens, and to see what havoc has been wrought by these small creatures in their absence; the neighbour who has been popping in to feed them had already regaled them with tales of spilled water bowls!
Collecting towels and such like for washing, I discovered a small rucksack of reading matter and a bag of snacks in the attic bedroom. There’s also an extra pair of walking boots in the hall. This latter bit of forgettery does not surprise me as there is quite a collection of boots and trainers located there. Normally we do a final sweep of all the rooms to check nothing has been left behind. I suspect that the stiff-back incident had something to do with that not happening so efficiently this time. Still, it could be worse. Many years ago we had a German teacher stay with us who left half his summer wardrobe in the spare bedroom!!
As a result of all the busy social stuff going on yesterday, it was not until late in the day that I caught up with the news of the attacks on Kabul airport. It is hard to imagine the chaos going on there. Well, in fact we don’t need to imagine. The reports are graphic enough. And now it looks as though the evacuation is coming to a rushed end with many left behind.
We can send donations to organisations helping those left behind and hope that the aid manages to get through. And our own problems simply fade into insignificance.
Life goes on. Stay safe and well, everyone!
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