Purposeful

The Boy and I spent about 2 hours chatting in the middle of the night. Some of the chat was pretty entertaining, and I wish I could quote a few highlights, but by the time he went back to sleep I was too wired to follow suit, and today my brain is fried. 

After breakfast ("More chocolate toast PLEEEASE!! Fank you! Mmmmm... YUM! Here you go Grandma - crust for you!") the menfolk went out into the garden to collect some sticks for throwing into the stream. I was making yoghurt at the time (which to the Boy's disappointment I contrived without spilling a week's worth of base mixture all over the floor - a small domestic mishap which he witnessed just once, but still mentions EVERY SINGLE TIME he comes to stay), and by the time I got round to the bridge they'd thrown their last stick and were heading back home to get more.

You might have noticed that the Team Leader here is wearing new boots. Sadly by last Thursday the much-loved lellow wellies were clearly too small, so we offered to replace them. Shown the options on the Clarks web site, B promptly chose the pink ones with unicorns on, and neither of us was minded to denigrate them or tell him they were unmanly, so for a couple of minutes it looked as if that's what he'd be wearing for the next few months. But when I spotted these and asked him if he thought they were lizards or dinosaurs, he got very excited about them and said he'd changed his mind and wanted them instead. Given that he'll shortly be starting preschool, and knowing what children can be like with their peers, I'm pretty sure this was a good move. And they are cool striding boots, I think.

After pooh-sticks we walked around the village and met a few people. Two of our neighbours were out with their gorgeous pale Golden Retriever, who was held well back by his owner and simply stood patiently, gazing adoringly at the Boy with a tongue-lolling smile, and gently waving his magnificent tail. Talking to his Daddy on the phone later, the Boy said, "And I met a Huge Fierce Dog!" - an absolute calumny that nearly made me cough tea out of my nose. Afterwards I said to him, "That dog wasn't fierce - he was gentle and lovely," and B replied dismissively, "I don' like dogs." "I know," I said. "You don't like them at the moment, do you? It's funny though, because when you were a smaller boy you used to like them a lot." He turned a disapproving scowl on me and said, "I didn't. I DIDN'T like them. I Do Not Like Dogs." 

So... that's me told. Again.