Gimme Shelter

Firstly, Happy 5th Anniversary to my darling, Rob. This is my nod to our special day - some wood - a traditional 5th wedding anniversary present, I believe. No expense spared! It wasn't a romantic day in any shape or form but neither of us were expecting it to be, hence yesterday's lunch. We only saw each other in the evening and ate dinner with the kids, toasting ourselves briefly with a glass of wine, before putting the kids and ourselves to bed.

Before all that, the kids and I had arranged to meet up with one of Miss A's pre-school chums at the park which seemed like a reasonable idea although it was a little drizzly. Not one to let a bit of rain get in the way of fun I brought along a towel to wipe down slides, seats etc so the kids could play happily. It was all going so well we decided to take a break and head to the Botanics cafe for some lunch. Safely inside, the heavens then opened. We were prisoners but it didn't seem too bad as we had food and the kids were keeping amused in the play area. There were some showers forecast for today but no big deal, or so we thought. We kept one eye on the weather and, once there seemed to be a break, we decided to make a run for it.

Unfortunately we were only out the door a few minutes before it started pouring again. We took shelter under one of the rather large trees and hoped it would stop soon. The kids had other ideas and made a run for it, giggling and laughing as they got steadily soaked. Miss A and Little D weren't wearing wellies but they managed to find every puddle in a 50 meter radius and jumped heartily in them. Little D's trousers were so completely wet, the weight of them had his trousers falling to his ankles. I hearded him back under the tree, as Emma chased Miss A and Eva through the Chinese Hillside, bringing them out the other side like drowned rats. Honestly, I have never, ever seen children so wet!

As the rain subsided we made our way to the gates and said our goodbyes. I knew it would be tough getting the kids home, dripping wet and getting cold but there were no taxis in sight and it's not really too far to walk so we went for it. Two minutes into the park and the heavens opened again. I cursed the people that took our buggy at the airport as they also took the raincover which would have been just the ticket at this point, and the buggy board doesn't fit this 'replacement' they left behind. So Little D got wetter by the second and Miss A steadfastly refused to walk. End of. They were both crying and I was very close to it myself. I put Miss A on my shoulders and steered the buggy as best I could while the rain lashed down, the three of us soaked to the skin. The thunder and lightening was a talking point on the way home, at least. Our 25 minute walk home took near on an hour but it felt much, much longer.

An unforgettable anniversary? You could say that.