So today, the last day of my PAD project was the first 'normal' day this year. Rather fitting, I think. Harriet went off to school on the bus with James while Ted and I hung around at home all day. We did little except play, really. Ted was intense in play, requiring me to just sort of sit there on the sidelines not doing much, but still being present. I guess it's that period of balancing on the cusp of dependence and independence (but gosh it's boring!). Here he's grabbing some snacks as we went into the supermarket.
HA! AS IF! Fooled you! No, Ted's latest game is to run up to anything brightly coloured at Ted-height, grab it and then come running back to me asking "Is this good for your body Mama?". To which I inevitably reply "No darling, it isn't" to which he giggles hysterically and throws said item, with impressive overarm, into the trolley. You can, I'm sure, imagine just how I was holding my sides with the hilarity of it all after the..oohh...fifteenth time in as many minutes.
The Saltwaters mentioned in yesterday's post are making their appearance here. Harriet asked me to make sure they were in the car when I came to pick her up, so she could change quick smart into them after leaving school. I can relate to that kind of enthusiasm. Seeing as my Birkenstocks were without any tread at all and I was in mortal danger if there was even mild rain or a spill anywhere (although I have perfected the thudding vertical plod and lift of my shoe so that I could avoid falling butt-up), the Saltwaters seemed a fantastic next shoe option. So fantastic in fact, that three quarters of the family bought up big. Unfortunately they don't make men's shoes which James is most despondent about. He'd probably only buy stinking tan anyway, when I can just picture him with patent yellow.
A day of play in the playroom doesn't really lend itself to photographs and aside from the supermarket photo above, I had taken all of three photos by 5pm today. Refusing to admit defeat I finally did it - I asked the children if I could take their portrait. The light was fading fast (what with this grey cool cloud cover that moved across about midday today) and they did consent to taking off their shirts which was admirable. However Ted snuggled in to Harriet for about one minute (I may be exaggerating) when he suddenly jumped up, exclaiming "OH! Blue Baby wants to go to the park!" and off he sped, to get Blue Baby on the rocker. So this was it in terms of a photo of the two of them. *sigh* Not even a hardcore month of photo-taking coudl achieve the impossible.
On the other hand Harriet said that she was quite happy to let me take her photo. Previous experience served me well here. When she says this, it mans I have a window of..hmmm...about ninety seconds where she will sit there and make odd staring/glowering/manic faces at the camera, then jump up in a similar fashion to Ted and declare it OVER.
The PAD has been fun this year. I was so upset last year to have been too sick to finish it. I love having the pressure to think in photos during the day, every day. The blogging and commenting at night has been a bit much sometimes (hence my double posts when I had a lazy night) but it has also been sad that so many members from my PAD group last year decided to eschew the Flickr group and post on Facebook instead. Facebook is just so huge and impersonal and anathema to me. 
I realise how ridiculous that sounds coming from someone who blogs, but I blog purely out of self interest; to create the memories for my children of our lives today. And our lives today are...fun. They're crazy and LOUD and out of control but mostly they're starting to move from an out of control chaos into a more orderly and predictable chaos (which I'm sure you'll understand if you have more than one child).
I may even consider doing another month of PAD this year, but I'll keep an eye on my enthusiasm level and let you know. It's been fun. See you soon...but not tomorrow. Tomorrow night I work. Finally - I have been very slack.
3 comments:
oh PAD will be missed by all your viewers out here in blog land, seeing you guys everyday make me miss you more and miss all those times we enjoyed together. love the portrait of harriet and ted, softly beautiful. loved the ted snack joke, i definitely had to read that bit twice and wonder what the catch was. and lastly i loved the saltwater pic, so delicious.
if you really love your birkos have a look at getting them resoled, i think the petersham store can do it for you. I've been able to keep my going for a good 5-10yrs of solid summer wear with a resole every year or so. You can also get cork sealant that keeps them going a bit longer.
I like being able to prolong the life of something rather than toss it when it wears out a bit
Oh yep that's why I bought the Saltwaters - I needed something to wear while I get the Birkis resoled. I've worn them close to 90% of the past two years, so they really REALLY need resoling!
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