Gosh the weeks fly by and it is Saturday again. Not exactly a profound statement I know, but time seems to vanish so rapidly and I sometimes sit and wonder what day it is and where it has all gone. I am going up to London tomorrow to celebrate Florence's second birthday and that is another scary thought that two years ago I received a phone call from Helen saying Listen Mum and I heard a snuffling sound and she said that is your granddaughter and life just got wonderful. And the best thing about being a grandmtoher is that it carries on being wonderful. It doesn't come to an end - you can watch your gorgeous child growing and changing and bringing back memories of when your own children learned to walk and talk and feed themselves without having their hands covered in tomato sauce and on it goes, a continuous link between the generations.
I babysat last week and Florence is going through a stage of not going to sleep straight away and gets frightened. She cries when left alone so after settling her a couple of times to no avail I decided to just sit on the floor next to the cot, no chat, no games, but just be there. She looked at me and put her hand through the bars of the cot and held my hand as she slowly dropped off to sleep and I sat there and, well I cried. I just looked at her sleeping face and the trust that all was well because Grandma was there, and OK better stop. I loved my girls when they were tiny, I love them now but nothing prepared me for the feeling I have for Florence. There was an article in a paper a few months ago which I read and thought O how true. The journalist said that she preferred her mother to baby sit above all others as she knew 'that when the tigers come through the window my mum would put herself in between them and my children' . She was right. I would do it.
Sorry about the burblings. I have had a nice day today, nothing spectacular or exciting, but just nice. Forced myself out of bed and went to my exercise class knowing that though I loathe getting up early and going out into the cold it would be worth it afterwards when a glow of virtue would overcome me. Got to the gym and took in the bottle of water that was in my car and had been there for a couple of days and found it was frozen solid. I had a mineral water ice lolly and so did half the class. So we stood all our little plastic bottles up in front of the heaters and they gradually melted so we could have a drink. Hoot.
Then home with the papers, lunch, a bijou snoozette and then nipped across to introduce myself to a new neighbour to say hi and invite him to the next Resident's Association meeting. He was studying for his law exams but said Hey I could do with a break, made me a cup of tea and then we sat and yakked and he was a lovely delightful young man and I thoroughly enjoyed his company. We do have some really nice people living in this little block and we all get on really well and having good neighbours is such a blessing.
Evening spent listening to Gotterdamerung which was broadcast live from the Met and oh my gosh, every time I listen to Wagner I am simply swept away by it all. Never fails and always makes me wonder how such a horrible vile man could write such glorious stuff. If I was told I could only listen to one composer for the rest of my life I would choose Beethoven, who seems to have the musical answer to everything as far as I am considered and is totally and completely satisfying, but then I listen to the last five minutes of orchestral music at the end of the Ring and I do waver, and so it was tonight.
In between all this I have been reading a simply delightful new book sent to me by Bloomsbury, Sidney Chambers and the Shadow of Death all about a vicar who gets involved in death and mystery. Set in the fifties I am loving every minute of it and cannot help wondering if the author, one James Runcie, is any relative? Published later on in the year and I will come back to it, but do make a note - I think this book is going to be a success.
So a good day, finished off nicely with my writing this to all my Random friends and off to bed with hot chocolate and the thought of a lovely day ahead of me tomorrow.
Hope everyone is having as good a weekend as I.
Au reservoir.
PS - friend of mine nipped off to the Canaries to get away from the cold and was looking forward to seeing the sun and leaving the ice and the snow behind. Got a text from him today saying it was dull and rainy and cloudy and no sun. Snigger, snigger......
