We’re just home from visiting the grandparents in Australia. It was a lovely family occasion, with all of The Dad’s side of the family gathering at once, lots of cousins to run around with and plenty of happy meals together.
A few things the kids said and did during the week stuck with me…
Fainjin, to Babess, as they ran towards the water at the beach to paddle and play race-the-waves: “Remember, don’t drown!”
Babess, looking at the in-flight magazine with its glossy, expensive jewellery ads: “[Bulgari necklace] That’s pretty… [diamond watch] that’s very cool… [more glamorous necklaces & rings] those are lovely… [magnificent and huge Tiffany solitaire diamond ring] [in very hushed tones] That’s awesome!”
Pearl, headphones still on, eyes glued to the back-of-the-seat screen, on our third plane of the day, as everyone around her was standing up to leave: “Are we getting off this plane, Mum?”
Babess, stepping thoughtlessly off the side of the swimming pool and plunging in right over her head – right in front of The Dad, which was why he was in with the kids in the first place… she was shocked and unimpressed, but no worse the wear.
Building a sand edifice and decorating it with shells… “It’s not a sand castle, Mum, it’s a sand kingdom!” Babess gathered the shells, proclaiming it “the perfect beach!” Fainjin dug a dungeon then went to get water to fill it – I thought he was going to pour the water into the sand, but he told me “That would be ridICKAlous!” and he dug a hole for the water container (half a plastic milk bottle which we’d improvised into a bucket for beach purposes) and semi-buried it. “Now the water will stay there, see?”
© UpsideBackwards 2013.
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