Shielding: Day 121

Quite an exciting day today!! We have been on the go for most of it, one way or another, and only crashed out this evening, not being used to being busy for so long.

I took myself off, fairly early, to water my friend’s plants in their greenhouse and check on those in the outside pots. All good, and I enjoyed the little outing. Once I was back home, I spent about half an hour chatting to Mum’s cleaner, to see if she was happy to go back to Mum’s once we got her move in motion. We mulled it over between us and concluded that she would return but we’d see how things go in the long-term. It was lovely to talk to her and see how she’d been fairing during the lock down. It was also music to my ears that she would continue to support Mum, at least initially, as Mum has grown very fond of her over the years.

I looked at the clock. It was nearly time for the Sutton Sleaths to arrive. Better get on and set the gazebo up, I thought. I looked at the clouds. Ah, yes, sooner rather than later would be preferable. I manoeuvred the box into the utility room in readiness but, before I got chance to do anything more with it, the Sutton Sleaths were actually on the doorstep.

Michael busied himself with unpacking the box and establishing the legs of the gazebo. I hustled John out to help, and then Michael and Danielle had to shoot off to take Thomas for his hospital check-up, so William and I were very able assistants to John, and we finalised it between us.

It had been an unexpected delight yesterday evening when Paul said he’d also call in with Freddie today so, with rain just beginning to lightly fall and the gazebo in its final stages, we were excited when we heard Freddie’s fluting little voice calling as they came down the path by the side of the house. Just in time to get the toys set up in the gazebo and get settled in. Lovely.

From thereon in, it was full-on, of course. The boys are little bundles of energy with healthy competitive spirits for the one and only slide, push-along toy, nee-naw car, and ride-on toy. Some refereeing was needed, but they are amazingly compatible considering their age gap.

Activities were sometimes in the gazebo – when it was raining – and sometimes outside. And once Michael was back, he and Paul played frisbee while the little ones were ‘piggy-in-the-middle’, and then they all played ‘tig’ to much hilarity and excitement. I tried to video the fun and games several times, only to find that whatever button I’d pressed, it wasn’t the right one and I’d missed the crucial action.

They all had a very good work-out and it felt like I did too. I didn’t play frisbee or ‘tig’ but I did do a lot of running about: getting the sandpit ready, bringing the toys out, setting them up, getting drinks and food and cups of tea, striding up the ‘Grand Old Duke of York’ hill and down again, bringing out a little table and chairs for the boys’ at which to eat their lunch and so on. It was bliss. I just love it!!

And, every time, every single time, it’s over all too soon. It’s not just the children saying, ‘I don’t want to go’, it’s me saying ‘I don’t want you to go’ too. Don’t know which is worse – the children having a tantrum because they’ve got to go, or me sulking because they’ve got to go!!! Of course, the adults i.e. my own children, are patting us on the head and saying, ‘You’ve had fun, haven’t you? You can do it all again another day. But now it’s time to go……’ Boo-hoo…….

Mum, bless her cotton socks, had appeared at the back window on several occasions to wave to the children and even managed a little look at baby Thomas. I think she, too, had thoroughly enjoyed watching the kids racing round and round the garden today. As we waved them all off, she even appeared at the front door and joined in.

John was on a roll by then and got on with prepping his homework ready to talk to Lily but ‘we was thwarted’. At the appointed time of 3.30 we clicked on the Zoom invitation and waited. Nothing doing. John sat back, his homework done, ready and waiting. I clicked some more, switched off then, on again but, nope, nothing doing. I phoned Paul. “Ah… yes, you won’t be able get onto the meeting yet, because I’m using it for a business call.” That’s the trouble with working from home isn’t it? Competition for Zoom time.

In the end, we aborted the Lily session. I tried texting her, then phoning her on various media – standard phone, FaceTime, WhatsApp – to no avail. Only to find out later that her battery had been flat and she’d left her phone upstairs to charge. And anyway, in the meantime, she’d been looking after Freddie while Paul was business Zooming…..

John was still on a roll as I skedaddled to our room to read my book for a bit, and he cooked the evening meal. It was delicious but, as always happens when he cooks, Mum was picky, and he huffed about it a bit. I didn’t know what to say – but whatever it was, it was going to be the wrong thing.

After we’d eaten and feeling tired, we flopped onto the sofa in the lounge and chose to watch a bit more of The A Word this evening. We are just starting the third series and still finding it fascinating. It is very well acted, and the story line draws you in.

So, a good day, thank you very much, with thanks to friends to have helped us today as well. Nigel and Hazel did a spot of shopping for us today and, when Nigel called in to drop it off, he brought Natalie and Sam, the baby, with him so I was able to coo over the pram for a good fifteen minutes. Pete and Dawn drove up to the garden centre and brought me compost back this morning, as well as some hankies for Mum, to replace the very threadbare ones she has been tucking up her sleeve. And then a nice chat to Moira this afternoon too. Oh, thank you, thank you for dear family and friends.

COVID-19 is still causing a kerfuffle across the country in different places and there were 85 deaths in all settings from it, up until five o’clock yesterday, with 538 infectees. I don’t know what to make of the NHS figures though, as the record simply records 9 deaths in a hospital setting for the 13 July 2020, which is a day out of date.

Wear your masks folks and be kind to all you see and meet. God bless.