Thursday photo #253

For the first time in ages, I didn’t manage to go swimming in the river this week. The water level was a little higher than we felt comfortable with, so we took the sensible option and didn’t go in. It has left me feeling a bit lost. Those few minutes of bobbing about in freezing cold water really do make all the difference to my week.

Reading for pleasure

As a child, I used to read for pleasure from a very young age. By the time I was Libby’s age, I had read all the books in the school library. I realise this isn’t normal, but it never crossed my mind that getting my children to read would be a problem.

I think the main difference is that our lives these days are so busy. The girls do something after school most evenings. We try to have a family day out on a Saturday and Sundays are taken up with swimming lessons. So, it’s rare to have much time to just do nothing. When they do, the girls want to play and I can’t discourage them from that.

For a while now, Libby has been capable of reading a chapter book. Occasionally, she’ll get quite into one and will carry it around with her reading a bit here and there. Then, she’ll put it down, forget where she put it and that will be the end of that. She loves Darcey Bussell’s Magic Ballerina books but they just don’t seem to suck her in to read instead of doing other things. When we saw The Worst Witch at the theatre this week, she came away saying she wanted to read the books. I’ve bought them from eBay for her, which makes me feel a bit like I’m spoiling her. I’m not one for buying them things unnecessarily, but if these books are the things that get her into reading for pleasure then it’s money well spent. Even now, I love having time to read. I’d hate for her to miss out on that feeling.

The waiting game

Do you ever feel like your life is on hold, just waiting for something in particular to happen? There are a few things making me feel like this at the moment. Even the seasons feel a bit like they’re on a go-slow.

With Spring around the corner, I know the weather will soon improve. It won’t be long before we’re back to swimming for an hour in the river before we get too cold. Running will be easier without the risk of getting soaked, and the children will be able to play outside in the evenings without worrying about getting blown away.

For now though, I’m just waiting. Waiting for water levels to drop so I can swim, waiting for things to fall into place at home. Waiting to be able to run in the evenings in daylight. It’s difficult to avoid wishing the time away. I only hope the grass really is greener on the other side.

Thursday photo #253

I haven’t taken many photos of the girls together lately. Luckily, we popped up onto the hills for some fresh air before ballet yesterday, so I snapped this one. They had a late night after the theatre and I find that a quick blast of fresh air can get them through the evening when they’d otherwise struggle with tiredness.