Yep… shielding, Day, 142

Well, still shielding….. and ‘bubbling’, that is! Our ‘bubble’ family, the Sutton Sleaths, came to us today, rather than us going to them. That gave us the opportunity to stay abed until at least 8.30, and then swan about getting ready until the family arrived.

We haven’t done anything spectacular at all today. Yet, it’s been a delightful day, just playing, eating, drinking, and mooching about. Once the Sutton Sleaths arrived, it was straight down to play. Out came the Duplo and our imaginations, and off we went. We built a house, a station, an airport, a rubbish tip and streets to take ourselves on imaginary journeys. We took ourselves from here to there, with ‘there’ being Jersey, and a visit to Granny and Grandad. We took all the family, with Grandma and Grandpa waving goodbye from Balsall Common. The imaginary game took us out of ourselves for hours. So much so, that it was soon lunchtime and a bite to eat. Meanwhile, we are pleased to report, young Thomas did quite a lot of snoozing which allowed for quite a lot of uninterrupted playtime.

Michael ensconced himself in the dining room with his work; Danielle ensconced herself on the sofa; Thomas stayed snug in his pram; and Grandpa made the mistake of joining me and William upstairs in the bedroom, listening to music, which involved a lot of dancing. Danielle grinned as we came back downstairs. She knew what we’d been doing and what she’d escaped!

After lunch, it was naptime. William was tucked into Michael’s old bed; the baby was tucked into his pram; Danielle was tucked into our old bed; and John… not tucked in, but very comfortable on the sofa. Everyone a-snooze. Michael was working, and I was keeping my ear out for any child that might be awake.

I am not sure that William was actually awake, but all of a sudden, I heard a THUD. I crept upstairs to check. William was in the bedroom, saying, “Sooo……” and looking around. “Soo…. I fell out of bed,” he said, as he saw me at the doorway. Aw… bless him. I popped him back into bed for comfort, but he was wide awake, wondering what the heck had happened to him. He had a little try at snuggling down, but no, it had been a rude awakening, and that was it. Time to get up. No tears, no drama, just time to get up.

We went downstairs where William giggled and giggled. His hands in front of his face, trying to contain his laughter, he told Grandpa all about it. Grandpa willed himself awake. “You fell out of bed?” he wondered, and William giggled some more and said, gleefully, “Yeeees.” The THUD had clearly woken Danielle up too, so she wandered downstairs and, all of a sudden, the whole household was awake. No worries, it must be time to go outside for a breath of fresh air after all.

Great playtime in the garden – filling up William’s watering can and plucking up the weeds. Again, our imaginations ran riot as we slew dragons, defeated bugs and dug for treasure. There really is no such thing as a dull moment when your grandchildren are around, is there?

All our enemies and bugs defeated, we headed back indoors. Gosh! It was nearly tea-time already. William watched TV while I prepped the tea, Grandpa finished uprooting a ginormous grass, Danielle fed the baby and Michael studied and worked hard.

Once again, all too soon, it was time to tidy the toys and say goodbye. Until the next time……..that’ll be something to look forward to!

Tired out, but absolutely thrilled with our day, we flopped in front of the TV this evening, with the remains of the bottle of wine we’d opened with our meal. What a wonderful day. Nothing to write home about in terms of excitement or unexpected happenings, but just a comfortable, marvellous day. Thank the Lord, eh?

We didn’t think about the victims of COVID-19, or any other tragedy today, but I do now, as I write. 89 deaths in all settings from the virus, and two in a hospital setting yesterday. 670 people confirmed as having tested positive.

Thank you for still reading my blog those of you who still do. God bless you all – and all those who are battling the virus.