Dads

As we were packing up on the last day - needing to be out of the house around 11 a.m. - we found a forgotten tub of ice cream in the freezer. A bonus for the kids, who were delighted to polish off a lot of it in the sunny garden with Jack and Malcolm.  As seems to happen so often, we were packing up on the warmest, sunniest, most delightful day of the holiday.  Today's photo comes from a period of rather harsh late morning sun, casting faces in shadow. Not ideal, but it captures the feeling of the moment for me.
One of the many pleasures, this week, has been seeing Jack, Josh and Malcolm with the kids. They each have a very different fathering style. Malcolm's quiet and often lost in the moment.  Amidst the cleaning frenzy, he was absorbed in picking blackberries with the kids and making them into juice ("fine, but keep out of the kitchen!", came the chorus from the rest of us, who were, of course, more than happy for him to keep the kids busy outside while we mopped and scrubbed). Jack's brisker, full of energy, great at getting the kids out and about (and equipping them with snacks and warm clothes/suncream/other practical things).  Josh often keeps his thoughts to himself but observes intently and is commonly the one to defuse a bust-up. He also has a particular knack for baby-whispering; perhaps his apparent calmness communicates itself to little ones.
As soon as the house was clean and closed up I left, still feeling less than 100% in the wake of the gastric upset. Fortunately the North Wales coast road was fairly quiet, and it was an easy journey home.