Soaked
For once I am home before seven. Lately I haven’t got home before nine. The phone rings.
“Hello?”
“Daddy!” Its Pirate Pete.
I should explain why number one son is calling me rather than being home so I can play with him before tucking him into bed the one time in three weeks I’ve been home before his bedtime. We have been blessed with our nannies. Super Nanny 1 was with us for five years before disloyally deciding she wanted her own kids and got pregnant. Super Nanny 2 (hereafter SG2) has been with us 2 years now. In her mid thirties, married with no kids (and is unlikely to, explaining is a step too far, even in an anonymous blog), she’s a godsend. She does far more than a typical nanny, and has quickly become part of our family. We joke, not untruthfully, that our kids have two mothers.
A couple times a year she likes to take the kids to stay a few days with her parents who live near the coast. She clearly loves doing it, her parents amazingly seem to love doing it, and the kids have a ball. We also joke that our kids have three sets of grandparents. We, however, are left somewhat bereft alone and at home. You’d think we’d be in seventh heaven, having sex on the kitchen counter and playing about like kids on holiday. We’re not, its always a slightly sad time. We miss them like you wouldn’t believe, and usually one of us catches some cold or flue to add to the misery. This is no exception, we’ve both got bad throats.
“Hey my young man! Have you had a good day?”
“Oh yes, I got soaked!”
“You went swimming?”
“No! We went to the seaside, and I slipped on some rocks, and fell in. Then we went and built some sand castles, and had ice cream, and did the fun fair. We got to a farm and fed some chickens, and I got really tired, so I just had a nap. We’re going to have tea soon. Mmm, fish fingers I think. Oh, and I got to go on a Ferris Wheel, though it wasn’t as big as the one we went on in Canada, and there were bumper cars. Can I have chips too? Yummy! The chickens where grand, they had so many different types. We got to find some eggs. I think they’re for breakfast tomorrow. AliBaba and I kept bumping into each other in the bumper cars, it was great. Did I tell you I got soaked?”
I can’t help but laugh. I love my boy, and all is well with the world.