After having a sort of lazy day this weekend we went to the library in the late afternoon. I picked out some books, JJ played a computer game and we went back out to the car. JJ had wanted to have a look around the garden near the library, so I put the bag of books in the car, and we did just that.
The garden consists of about 9 big planter boxes containing mostly herbs, with gravel paths around them. We started looking around, and I can’t remember how, but we started played chasey around the planter boxes. I think JJ initiated it but before I knew it I was IT and was running around the boxes trying to catch him so he could be IT. It was hard running with my slip-on sandles and my handbag flapping against my hip, but I managed a few shuffles to try and catch him.
As I rounded a corner trying to catch the elusive JJ I spied a couple sitting on a park bench near our chasey area. I looked at them, then looked at how I probably looked to them, then thought stuff it I’m playing chasey with my son. They can just watch, and watch they did as we continued.
After a few minutes of shuffling, running, catching up with each other, hiding from each other, and laughing, we had a look at the sculpture artwork in the garden. I wish I’d had my camera with me, and I will go back and take a photo, but it was a face with the nose cut off. Around the faces were about 15 different noses. I tried pulling off one of the 15 noses because it looked like you had to try and match a nose with the face, but of course they were all part of the sculpture and it wasn’t really a game.
And I must say that this all happened after leaving our house where JJ tidied up his room without me asking him to. He proudly showed me that he’d put everything away and it was all neat and tidy. I suitably and effusively congratulated and hugged him for such a great effort. I’m really trying my hardest to positively reinforce. It’s hard to break years of habit of focusing too much on the annoying stuff and to learn to focus much more on the good stuff. But focussed I was and I reckon he’ll be doing that room again without me asking.
These two moments drowned out a couple of times during the day when he lost it for some reason or another – mostly due to tiredness. But to top off the day it was good to have some time back to ourselves without having to do a hospital visit. My dad got out of rehab today after his stroke and has gone home.
