This is a photo from half term. I sat on the beach in the sunshine while the children pottered about in the shallows. No one needed a wee or a snack, no one was having a meltdown, no one was whinging, and there was no bickering. I tentatively pulled my book out of my bag, waiting for all hell to break loose. When it didn’t, I found my bookmark, scarcely daring to draw breath, and began to read. I felt as though I had reached the pinnacle of motherhood! My friend with teenagers scoffed at that!
Since then the rain has poured. My phone signal flickered on a WhatsApp call to grandparents yesterday afternoon. It was swiftly followed by a flash of lightning and a rumble of thunder, then the heavens opened again. On my morning bike rides the river speeds past, swollen but by no means full. I am very glad of the rain. Watering just isn’t the same. A lot of my allotment produce seemed to be hanging on for dear life. Only the strawberries were flourishing. We must have eaten a whole punnet nearly every evening. I employ Little Owl to hunt them out for me. The strawberry patch is a veritable jungle.
