a weekend with our small elf

Recently I had the privilege of spending a whole weekend with my granddaughter. Her parents were having a much needed break, dancing and grooving at a local hippie festival, while I was reintroduced to how it felt to have a tiny one underfoot again!

With seven children, I had constant babies and toddlers around me for 18 years. Yes 18!! And yet, it amazes me how quickly I have gotten used to not having a permanent part of my brain focused on little beings. She was no trouble at all; she can amuse herself quite nicely, rarely cries, is interested in everything and is doted upon by her youthful aunts and uncle. Yet, still, I found that I had to rearrange my thinking and keep her in mind at all times.

Going to the garden? Find hat and boots. Make sure she doesn't get sunburnt. Oops, fell over the dug area….carry her over the lumpy bits. Clean dirt out of boots.

Cooking a meal? Ensure that she isn't underfoot. Pass her a nibbley. Give her a drink. Watch closely as she amuses herself with the cutlery and bowls. Quick! a trip to the potty. More snacks.

But we had fun too! It was delightful to see her busyness; the intense focus on her chosen task; her smiles; the snuggles at bedtime and her sleepy look when she first woke up.
 
 A wheelbarrow full of decaying rhubarb stalks makes for a fun ride.

With the help of my Fairy, we made uncooked play dough. The little one loved it. With the utmost concentration she placed small balls of dough into the nest.
(Our first time for uncooked dough and it's not as good to play with as the cooked one, quite crumbly, but…. it doesn't stick to every surface it lands on - i.e: the floor, chair, table and so on!)

We hung several loads of washing together...….one peg at a time!!

We picked leeks gone to seed flowers and fennel stalks and she marvelled at the tiny buds and gently pulled off the outer husks to offer them to me.

And she carefully made a lovely floral arrangement before turning her eyes and hands to a bowl of 'pums' we had picked earlier from the wild plum trees.

Perhaps I am older and not used to little ones any more but what struck me later (and again now as I look through these photo's) is that I can have fun with her. I don't remember having much time to wander slowly around the garden picking flowers or holding jars for a very slow flower arranger!! I certainly didn't have the time to run behind and snap photos for posterity (although I do have photos of my children!!!) I do remember being extremely grateful for daytime sleeps, older siblings and when each one became slightly more self sufficient.

Now, I wish I had taken more joy in each little one but I can also see how thats not always possible when you are the rearer, the nurturer, the discipliner, the cook and the cleaner. I can now truly see the difference that so many grandmas told me about when I still had my own little ones -

"You'll have fun and games with your grand children all day and then you send them back for their parents to raise"!

And I do believe that its true!!!