It has been wonderful this week to be able to spend time with my mum; to have her come and stay over again and to be able to give her hugs, thanks to us being able to be in a social bubble together. It’s been over three months since I last saw her. I had thought about going down to visit her and sit out in her garden when the lockdown rules were relaxed to allow this, as my siblings have been able to do, but I knew that it would have been almost impossible to keep Thomas contained in Nanny’s small garden and stop him running up to hug her. It’s hard enough in Grandma and Grandad’s big garden where there is plenty of room for him to run around and for us to easily keep a distance from each other.
Three months is a long time for a toddler and I know my mum was a little worried that it might have affected the bond between her and Thomas. She needn’t have worried. As soon as we pulled up outside her house and he saw her, his little face lit up and throughout the time we spent together, he was constantly hugging her, climbing in her lap or showing her toys and “Nanny!” was definitely his most-said word along with lots of “awww! Love you!”
It’s been a week with huge amounts of love and laughter, lots of hugs and kisses, and utter contentment at being able to spend time together. As with all such moments, it has been bittersweet too – there is always the empty chair and beautiful memories of a little girl who adored her Nanny and begged her to come and live with us the last time she saw her. Jessica would have been overjoyed at being able to spend time with Nanny this week but she was very much a part of every moment of it. We visited her at GreenAcres; Nanny sang the songs she loved at bedtime, adding in little extra verses that Jessica had made up (our old lady who swallowed a fly also swallowed a duck in Jessica’s version!) and we smiled and laughed over memories and photos whilst also allowing the sadness at Jessica’s absence to be felt and acknowledged. Oh yes, Jessica was there in each and every moment too.
We dropped Nanny back home yesterday and Thomas’s little voice from the back of the car saying “Nanny gone,” as we drove away was so very sad and reminded me of Jessica who used to be so sad at Nanny going home that we’d be nearly back at our house again (an hour’s drive) before her tears were dried, while Sophie would tell her to “calm down, Jessica,” and remind her that we would see Nanny again soon. As soon as we got home, Sophie was asking to FaceTime Nanny. Thank goodness for video calls – being able to see Nanny each day on screen is nowhere near as good as seeing her for real but at least we can still see each other while we look forward to the next visit.
Other things that have made me smile this week
- Picking and eating raspberries and wild strawberries from the garden.
- Paying Grandma and Grandad a surprise visit at the weekend before Nanny came to stay. We still have to keep socially distanced there but at least we’re able to see them more frequently and sit and talk together while the children run around their lovely big garden.
- Getting my piano tuned again. It was last tuned in January but hadn’t been tuned for about five years before that. Given the amount of adjustment that was needed and the fact that the piano has had more use since January than the two years before it, I wasn’t surprised it needed tuning again so soon. With me playing hymns each week for our online church services, I was becoming very conscious of some dodgy notes!
- Seeing the Charlotte rose that we planted in our garden in memory of Jessica (Charlotte is her middle name) in bloom for the first time alongside the Pretty Jessica rose.
- Making a drum with Sophie as part of her home-learning which is music-themed this week.
- Making a fairy house with Sophie from a milk carton with sticks and sand glued to it.
This post has really put joy in my heart. How lovely to form your social bubble with your Mum, it’s adorable how Thomas was so happy to see her again. It looks like Sophie has had a fun learning week.
#wotw
Thank you Anne. It has been so good to be able to spend time with my mum again and the children loved every minute of it 🙂
Ahhhh I can imagine how amazing it feels to be able to give your mum a hug again and spend time with her. It must bring some normality back now that you can get together 🙂 You’re the second person to reference a piano today and it’s really making me wonder if we might have the space at home. I’ve never been able to play an instrument and the piano fascinates me. It would be lovely to take some lessons and even have our kids learn as they grow up! wotw
It’s so amazing to be able to spend time with my mum and nice to have that sense of normality again. I love my piano – I’ve had it since I was a little girl. It does take up a lot of space but I couldn’t imagine not having one.
I bet your mom was over the moon that you came to visit. We didn’t see our grandchildren for the first 2 months of the pandemic. Then we decided to go on hikes outdoors with them. Now they are coming up to our house regularly and last night they even slept over since the rules have been relaxed. It was even hard for the 6-year-old to remember to not give us hugs. I can imagine it was almost impossible to tell Thomas not to crawl up on Nanny’s lap.
It was amazing to have that time together. People who live alone (like my mum) are now alone to form a social bubble with one other household which means not having to keep that distance. Seeing Thomas with Nanny this week confirmed that it would have been impossible to keep him from wanting to hug her. I’m so glad that you are able to spend more time with your grandchildren now that the rules have been relaxed.
Aww! How lovely your mum can be part of your social bubble. This post has really made me smile. It sounds like you have had a fab week with lots of smiles and lots of moments remembering Jessica. I hope your mum visits again soon. x
I’m so glad that social bubbles being introduced has meant being able to spend that time with my mum again. It’s been such a lovely week x
Oh! So fabulous that your mother can be part of your social bubble. Must have been wonderful to hug her again. As if Thomas would forget. It is good that this is possible now. I need to tune our harp again. Love the idea of someone doing it for me, like a piano tuner, as the strings sometimes go ping and it scares the life out of me. Playing a dodgy note is always lip curling. Your roses are beautiful and a lovely way to remember Jessica in the garden. I love Sophie’s fairy house. Very imaginative. #wotw
It was so amazing to be able to spend time with her and not have to keep apart. I can imagine the strings going ping while tuning a harp can make you jump! I didn’t know you played harp.