2. Long-Standing
3. Learning To Talk
Days 1 and 2 of The Trade Show. Son 1 aged 4y 8m and Son 2 aged 20m went with Wonder Nanny yesterday. They apparently walked round, went on rides, looked at animals (pig and mooing noises from Son 2,) collected stickers, pencils and assorted oddments from stands, had lunch and then went in the Play Tent till I collected them. Son 2 appeared to have also found a shirt-painting stand. He was in white linen. I told Wonder Nanny not to worry about the shirt as You Can Get Anything Out Of Linen. Son 2 was cheerfully testing the theory, with strips and splodges of paint, ice cream and pen all over him. The children painting in the Play Tent were using washing up bowls to clean their paintbrushes, so there were large bowls of shallow, deeply coloured water perched on kiddies’ chairs. Son 2 had borrowed a tea cup from a toy box and was using it to scoop out blue water and tip it on the floor in front of him. Nice.
Son 2 was having a day with Wonder Nanny, and Son 1 was at Nursery today. We got him there on time, which was a Good Thing, and he plopped down, cross-legged, with the other children with nary a glance up at me. I took a colleague into The Trade Show, and we had a Good Day. Very busy, great people, saw loads of contacts, walked miles, worked hard, left late. As I was leaving I rang home to tell The Man to start putting the boys to bed without me. Wonder Nanny answered. Past her leaving time. ”Isn’t The Man back yet?” “No… I know he was picking up Son 1, but we’ve not seen them here.” I rang The Man. Doing a Big Shop with Son 1. Hadn’t worried about Wonder Nanny and Son 2 because he’d assumed I’d be home. Oh Dear.
Back home, Son 2 hung round my neck, Son 1 screamed and squealed. “Do you want to go to the Trade Show again tomorrow?” I asked Son 2. He nodded, made his pig noise, and moo-ed. He really does understand everything. His speech bounds onwards: “Up Up Up,” is a new favourite, said mostly with two arms wound round my leg as I try to shake him off so I can get things out the oven. He has recognisable words for bread, toast, butter, cheese, milk, juice, tea, shoes, chair, bath, bubble, bus, book, bear, boat, cat, dog, stop, spot, please, peas, ice cream, chocolate, toes… I must do a proper list one evening. His most used sentence is “And me!” Which he uses indiscriminately every time I ask Son 1 if he wants something.
[...] whatever. Do your worst.” Every bloody word I say, played back to me, again and again. Trade Stands He squirmed on to my knee and pointed as I stared, catatonic, at the Sunday paper. “Look Mummy. [...]