We are robots

Today has picked up where yesterday left off!

Preparing breakfast to the strains of The Beach Boys ‘I Get Around’ is definitely a good place to begin and when your children arrive and come barrelling in through the door to immediately assume control of proceedings, you know that the remainder of the day will largely take care of itself.

Which it did and featured a party lunch, a nice stroll out (this time out bumping into their mum again in a straight reversal of yesterday’s chance meeting), watching an afternoon movie, playing football and riding scooters in the backyard. How nice to round it off with a lovely dinner and the 8pm clapping session for the NHS and associated front-liners. The children wandered out in their pyjamas and joined in too. I wonder if years down the line they’ll remember this strange passage of time?

Whilst it is lovely to have this extra bonus time with my two youngest children, I am missing my eldest. We’d settled into a nice routine in recent weeks and started having our own little film nights together, but that’s all gone by the wayside. Small price to pay really as the saving grace is that she is safe, happy and comfortable at home with her mother, and whilst I still get to see her via FaceTime, I am looking forward to that first cuddle with her when I see her next. I bought her a bag of skittles before the ‘virus hit and am determined that that same bag is there and waiting for her at the end of it, but am reluctant to commit to this fully.

My eldest was on my mind for another reason today too. When I split from my first wife, after a brief stay with a very good friend, I ended up in a tiny one-bed flat. From the first night of being there curled up on an inflatable mattress with a few possessions in bin bags and boxes scattered around me, I rebuilt my life and with it tried to maintain a good relationship with my eldest. It wasn’t easy, but somehow we muddled through! One of the days we remembered most was when we built a “robot” (form not function) out of an old Berocca box and yoghurt pots – this was around 10 years ago and she still has it!! – so with this in mind, I’d been saving up some boxes ’n’ stuff in order to allow history to repeat a nice memory, which is pictured here.

The one on the left is wearing a tie “like daddy” and the one on the right reminds me of Po the Kung Fu Panda for some reason….

It was just as much fun the second time around! I wonder how long these creations will be kept for?

Stay healthy.