Yesterday Evening

Okay, so I haven't blogged in ages. To be honest we have been puttling (?) along quite nicely although with a couple of visitors and a trip to America and I realise should do a May Round-up type blog but I specifically wanted to talk about yesterday evening.

Ken and I had needed to pop out so Angus was collected from school by his friend Jake, and Isla was cared for by our neighbour Clare who has a daughter in Angus's class and an older son. So, to start with both had already eaten dinner by the time we came home at 5.30. Combine this with a beautiful summer evening: blue skies, sunny, still warm and a woodland just across the road from us. What you end up with is Angus, Isla, Clare's children and assorted friends, an older lad from further up the road with his school friends (all lovely lads) playing with a rope swing, various dollies and pushchairs, all without a cross word. I was promised by four of the older lads and Angus that Isla would be cared for and not allowed across the road on her own. We still kept a parental eye just in case and what we saw was wonderful.

Ken and I watched (with glass of wine in hand sitting on Clare's bench) as our children did what children should do: climbed trees, climbed over walls, played, talked with friends, invented stories, pushed dollies, helped each other and the push chairs over the wall into the woods, negotiated with one another (from what we can gather mainly over making sure the children on the swing didn't knock over the smaller children with the dollies and push chairs. Apparently the babies were on a bug hunt!), fell over and all had a wonderful but socially stimulating evening. I was quite touched as one of the 9 year old lads attempted to carry Isla from the woods and pass her over the wall to me after a minor tumble. He was quite concerned as she had bashed her mouth again. A quick brush off and hug later and she was back with her dolly in the woods, hand held by the lad.

We eventually managed to disentangle our children at 7.15 and felt like spoil sports as they were still having so much fun. They fell into an exhausted sleep half an hour later.

I  have no photos of this fun as I didn't know some of the children and wasn't sure what they would think of me taking photos! Trust me, it was a wonderful sight. Simple joy and the pleasure of a summer's evening.