to be honest I have been feeling exhausted today. I was out early this morning and completed my usual distance but it was a bit of a struggle. I had a difficult moment in the park when an enormous dog was barking a lot and running around, I like big dogs as much as I like cows. I managed to find myself a short cut through a hotel car park to avoid it, but this then meant I was off my route, from then on it was a struggle to get back in the walking zone. For once I was very glad to be home.
I was just sorting the last of the chores when my gorgeous Granddaughter arrived to play. Waving off her lovely Mummy, we settled in to enjoy her mid morning snack. The weather was looking a bit grey outside, but as the rain was not actually falling we set off for the park. All the way down the hill my lovely girl is telling me about everyone she loves. She loves her Mummy and her Daddy and her Nana, she loves her Aunty and she loves Thomas the Tank Engine, well to be more specific she loves Rosie who I think is a bus. As ever when I am with her I see the world through her eyes. Wagons thunder passed and she tells me ‘they are very noisy Nana’ she is not wrong.
We leave the main road behind us and wander towards the park. We pass a building site and we stop to watch the diggers and the machinery, I am almost delighted to see one of the machines is being operated by a young woman. This I feel is good for my Granddaughter who hopefully won’t grow up with the stereotypes of my youth. As we are watching the builders the rain starts to fall fast. It is that soaking fine rain that leaves you so wet without you really noticing. We get a move on and are soon in the cafe in the park. Here is the soft play area she loves so much, and the good coffee I enjoy.
As I keep a careful watch over her playing I am touched by how she reaches out to the other children. She smiles at everyone and is not fazed at all by new faces. It makes me wonder when do we lose that, if we do lose it of course. I am still the person who smiles at strangers, but I do know lots of other people don’t. We build towers and knock them over and she shouts me from across the play area,’Nana, look at me!!’ Soon my coffee is finished and the rain has stopped. Time to head out into the park.
Sadly the rain means the swings and slide are not usable just now, they are far too wet, but the rain has left other play opportunities. My Granddaughter loves puddles. She is suitably dressed in her wellies and raincoat and her infectious laughter as she runs from one puddle to another is attracting attention. People stop to watch her, everyone is smiling, especially me. We spend lots of time looking for and then jumping in puddles. It occurs to me that I had forgotten the fun they can bring.
As we walk back home she is chatting away, ‘I love puddles, Nana’ she says. I am reminded that without the rain we would not have had any puddles, and surely this is as it is, always. If I wasn’t walking for Diabetes UK we would probably have used the car to go out and I probably would have gone home when the rain came down so much. I may have missed out on the puddle jumping and a lovely morning of fun and laughter.
The step count today is less that on previous days but I have still done almost six miles, some of it making precious memories with my gorgeous girl.