Walk and Talk

I am trying to write a blog, but it’s really hard work when your child who is off school, sits opposite to you, comments on everything, hums occasionally, pulls faces, articulates, asks my approval in every two seconds on her creative work she’s busy with. Out of all the days she refuses to watch any TV! It doesn’t matter how many times I’ve been trying to explain to her that I can’t concentrate like that, she’s pretty experienced in ignoring me. Seems like that it’s all my imagination, like I’d never said anything. I have to admit though despite of my moaning here, she can be quite entertaining.

So I asked her what I should write today. She suggested to write about toilets, because that’s the only one of my blogs she’s read and she seemed to enjoy it (especially the squatting bit. I don’t think she’d find this so hilarious if she had to pay a visit to one of those herself).

Another topic she proposed was on how this morning I had to take her brother to school without her. Straight away I laughed it off as such a non-subject (but later realized what an important part of her daily life it is to go to school all of us together and how it may look small, but actually is quite a change in her day, especially as I left her behind at home with my Mum). So after a consideration I decided to challenge myself and take the second option as a topic today (in respect of her idea and obviously – shame on me for being rude and laughing at it!).

So this morning my son and I had a lovely walk to school, happy for the rain to stop just before leaving the house. We stepped (me) and jumped (him) over the puddles and chatted about all sorts of things, although talking about drops took a centre stage. One of the raindrops fell down his collar and he said it was massive, like one big full of several little ones. So we named it a Family Drop that’s family members were stuck close together becoming one huge raindrop. We were also cleaning our noses from the drops that had gathered on top of our noses. And on top of our drops we made it to school exactly on time (for a change).

I can’t remember my parents ever taking me to school, although they must have done it on my first year. I still do picture the river of children between ages 6-18 walking to the same school every day passing our block of flats and when I was old enough (seven) to go to school on my own, I became part of that river. To be honest walking to school was actually quite a monotonous activity, but walking back from school took much longer with unexpected detours and a possibility to ride on a bus for two stops, just because of having a chance to be part of the group of friends who lived further away and needed to take the bus home. So going back home was pure fun! Of course apart from the time when I had to carry my skis back home at spring time when the grass was green and the trees and flowers were blossoming. I hadn’t been bothered taking my winter gear back any earlier, delaying it as much as possible, hoping naively that I could get away with it. In the end I had to pay a high price for my laziness and stupidity. At that fragile age in front of other school children it was extremely embarrassing to walk home with my skis and poles! And I couldn’t really pretend that I was about to go for a cross-country skiing holiday somewhere abroad either… Or could I?

Or maybe I could have pretended to be someone else...

And additionally on a snowy note – I can’t wait for it to snow or go for a cross-country skiing holiday in Estonia, despite of my last attempt this February when I was going off on my own to the woods onto a skiing track, forgetting that I hadn’t been skiing for years. Yes, I was still able, but yes, I wished several times I hadn't started it, because yes, I did fall a few times (I couldn’t believe how high the hills can be in that flat Estonia. And what a speed!), but I survived and (perhaps) would do it again!