Utter joy is a small child running just for the fun of it with glee painted on his face. Even better when cousins join in and the lead child keeps running, looking back and laughing. Grandma watching and bracing for the inevitable falling over or crashing into a tree.

Little boys climbing a vast play equipment…little voice calling out “help, help” but as the day progresses that little voice is no more. Horizons have broadened and confidence soaring so much so that two little boys need to be taken down from the top of climbing ropes for grandma’s peace of mind. It’s fun climbing up but not sure about coming back down…Dad, big cousin and big sister to the rescue…but wow those little bare feet must hurt balancing on the thick ropes of the spiderweb…

FUN

Big children, little children, baby, teens, cousins, mates, girls, boys.
Mum, dad, friend, sister, brother, sibling, fathers.
Tiny and Young and older and oldest, grandma.

What’s to eat. Always hungry, always hungry. Time for food.
What shall we have. Lots of easy healthy goodies brought from home by all. From the depths of the cold Esky (Australian)…Chilly Bin (New Zealand) comes cold chicken , delicious coleslaw, salad- serve yourself, avocado, fresh bread rolls and a treat of hot chips. Hot chips at the beach are a must have if available…enjoyed by one and all.

Stand around, sit on camp chairs, sit on picnic rug, swap seats…get up out of chair look carefully before sitting back down. Is it still empty?…Little boys sneaking into big chairs.

Food gone!
Summer time!
Australia =
Cricket time!

“Mum, did you bring the stumps?”
“I told you to bring whatever you wanted to play with!”
“You’ll just have to play Caught Out”

Off go the cricket bats, tennis balls, and if all else fails an esky on wheels and a child’s camping chair…what! you say.
It works!
Fun for a few hours of cricket. Dads, brothers in law, brothers, mates, and cousins whilst the little boys have their adventures on the play ground, joining in occasionally …but getting shooed away.

Girls, cousins, teens….running down the cliff of sand to the beach, exploring the sea shore, climbing over rocks, walking along sand, talking, laughing, running, solving all the girly puzzles. Time for a game of chase. Back to base. Look after little brother and cousin on play equipment. Turn and turn about.

Grandma’s turn , now it’s one mum, then the other. Friend, then big cousin again. Random. Seamless. Not set pattern but constant. Always watching the little ones. Getting a drink, more sunscreen, a hug, a smile….and little ones still running!

Soon time to go home…

“…but we have to have a last swim and take the boogie board”

An hour….no, more later …blue tinged bodies return covered in sand. Cold, hungry and tired out.

FUN

Sand, wet towels, wet swimwear and sand in hair. But for grandma now a cup of tea.

For all it’s been a delightful savouring and joining together in all the sights and sounds of this simple family day filled with joy…and a little baby contentedly feeding, smiling, sleeping, being held and nursed amongst all the happenings and contented chatter of one and all.

Survey the colourful scene and pack everything up. Bikes, pram, cricket bats, balls, chairs, wind and sun shelter, blankets, towels and more towels, sand everywhere. Do we have all the children? Strap into children’s and car seats…homeward bound.

Memories!

Do you enjoy these unfussy and unstructured days without pressure to be who you are not? Enjoy the moment and see beauty in the little things. Stand under a tall tree and look way up at the top most branches.

Alexa

Photo thanks to morgueFile free photos

Memories… walking through fields of grass  

Photo courtesy Proven Winners

Son newly practicing  his abseiling skills using the huge gum tree in our yard with all his ropes and tackle instead of the cliffs and canyons.

Same son lying on lounge in his suit utterly spent after a gruelling day at American Consulate for his interview to migrate? and live in USA to be with his now wife.

At Sydney Airport with family saying our goodbyes with tears  in our hearts. Son and his wife entering restricted area for  Customs where we could not follow but only look and observe them walking away as they returned to USA….a little 2 year old voice calls out plaintifly…. “come back!!!!” . Our son told us later it was the hardest thing he had to do to keep walking and not look back. As I write this it makes me tear up again.

Son writing some poetry…I saw a quote recently…”Poetry is Code” . That must be why he is a programmer.

The smiles on daughters and sons in law faces  at the birth of their dear children.

Me knocking on daughter’s locked front door- knock, knock,knock….little voice from the other side calling “mummy” , footsteps running,  “grandma.”

Me carrying a restless unhappy  little boy who is trying to wake up properly. Whistling occasionally as I walk around among big gum trees  in the still Australian bush beyond the back fence-line …a little voice pipes up “Music”

Me going for a walk in the same still bush on last day of this year with 2 little boys, cousins, trying to find where the tractor that we can hear chug chugging away is. We find it, and holding my hands we just stand there listening and watching from  a distance…chug chug chug, a tractor connected to pump water from a dam for the cows….Very soon its time to go back for tea. One little boy runs to a huge tree and tries to hug  and climb it. Arms are MUCH too little so I lift him up and he walks up the tree horizontally… up and up, way above my head. Another voice pipes up “me too, me too”. So up we go and again and again till grandma’s arms wear out!

“Grandma, God is little cause he can come under the door…he can see everything”.

…and a little funny one, “Grandma can you lick the gravy off my meat I don’t like gravy” from someone quite a few years ago now

Life is full of memories or is it the other way round, memories are life