1. Sleeping Lions
2. Fish Out Of Water
3. Meat And Dung
Son 1 aged 5y 10m lay between me and The Man at dawn. I half-woke. The Man and Son 1 went downstairs. I seven-eighths went back to sleep. Son 2 aged 2y 10m may have wailed. Son 1 appeared back at the side of the bed. “I’ve got a nosebleed.” I woke, very annoyed. “Well get Daddy to sort it if he’s awake. Don’t wake the whole house up. And don’t drip on the sheets, we just changed them!” He left. I slept. I woke at 0730 to a silent House. Downstairs in the Double Bed, Son 1 lay on one side of The Man, Son 2 on the other. My peaceful coffee and bowl of muesli were bliss. The others came down soon after. ”Son 1 woke with a nosebleed,” said The Man. “I took him downstairs to the Double Bed, but Son 2 was already in it, and wouldn’t let Son 1 get in. So I thought I’d look after Son 2 and you could look after Son 1.”
It rained this morning, so we set out for the Holiday Camp Swimming Pool, but when we got there it was “Closed To Non-Residents Due To 90 Minute Waiting Time.” Ah. Our other trips there have been in dry weather. The Mighty One I drove the boys to The Zoo. We parked by a playground. I gave them their sandwiches and bought a latte from a kiosk. It was lovely. I sat on a bench, watching them play, and thought Life Is OK. Son 1 came running up. “Don’t knock my coffee over, I’m really enjoying it.” He sat eating cake. And then knocked my coffee over. Inside the swimming bag.
The Zoo was a success. Son 1 and I used to go all the time before Son 2 was born… but he hardly remembered it. I let them roam wherever they wanted, and they sparkled with childish delight. They slid down the big slide, chased pigeons and seagulls, loved the lions gnawing at hunks of meat: “What do they feed them on?” “Naughty children.” “No, it’s an anteater, I can see its long nose” – cooed at the baby fishing cats and played in the playground. And there’s a maze, and Son 1 loves a maze. In we all went. At every turn, Son 2 tried to peel off and go one way while Son 1 ran off in the opposite direction. We found the middle, and then took a wrong turn. “I need a poo!” proclaimed Son 1. I looked round in despair. I didn’t know how to get out, let alone where the nearest loo was. Son 1 was going to drop his trousers where we stood. “No! Quick, get down the dead end!” I used a nappy bag to scoop the poop. Son 1was triumphant when he found the way out, and on we went. In the end, I called time because I could barely take another step. The boys slept in the car on the way home, ate very little tea and were then truly hard work at bedtime. The Man and I started clearing up in the kitchen. Clomp, clomp, clomp down the stairs. Son 1 and Son 2, holding hands. Son 1 was feeling sick and needed a jug just in case. Son 2 had climbed out of his cot to see where Son 1 was going.
[...] but we got in, parked badly in the overcrowded car park and went to the pool. Full. My Family And Other Animals A queue for 20 minutes. In the heat, I sent G and G inside towards some poolside chairs. They [...]
[...] been talking about the playground outside The Zoo, so had been looking for me near the entrance. My Family And Other Animals At the First Aid shed, there were plasters and lollipops. When we got back to The House, The Man [...]