With exaggeration as my byword, I may perhaps not be entirely serious. Indeed, despite the (many....) trials I rather enjoyed the time spent with him. I'd arranged to work half days last week with the intent to drop off and collect Luca from school and also allow me sufficient time to complete the necessary everyday household tasks. It transpires that work/life balance can be a tricky mistress.
Despite the trials we did manage. Interestingly Luca's behaviour varied somewhat from type however. In contrast to his norm he woke early every day, much to my chagrin - sleep became a rather precious commodity. "Is it morning time?" he queried every morning from the edge of my bed, before the birds outside had started tweeting, and even prior to the sun having begun its ascent over the mountain tops.
I always surrendered not long after however, "encouraged" out of bed by the presence of a 5 year old boy and Jack Russell dog having sneaked into Carole's side of the bed offering "quiet" reminders that breakfast would be quite appreciated.
Curiously few things better the school run in my eyes though. Collecting him from school was always highly rewarding, seeing him emerge from the doors of the school, his eyes darting round the playground in search of his Dad. The smile and sprint toward me once he'd located my whereabouts was just terrific. Sat in an office dealing with difficult situations or seeing that grin - the contrast was just enormous.
Picking him up at 3.30pm daily allowed great scope for activities. We went to the cinema, swimming, played football - anything that wore down that internal Duracell battery. We even cooked together, as I conducted culinary experiments in an attempt to widen his palette. The various grimaces across his face demonstrated his stubbornness, though to his credit he tried everything I cooked. Most interestingly was his lack of gastric knowledge. The gradual realisation that mince isn't actually made out of Earthworms being a particular highlight.
The lack of adult company was more of a trial than I imagined however, and I felt more than a little restless once he'd gone to sleep. His Uncle Ross did offer some respite on Friday evening however, albeit at a cost. Before his descent to the land of nod his Uncle introduced him to a video game called "Soul Caliber" (if I rightly recall its title) which was a 1 versus 1 fighting game. I think you can probably guess how tricky is was to settle a five year old down to sleep following such a visceral experience. An experience perhaps not to be repeated!
The weekend brought forth far greater time flexibility, which allowed us greater scope as well as a more relaxed pace. I'll try to detail below the following photo's:-
Taken today during our forest walk (Kirkhill Forest), here the short man rests on a stump, his legs having failed him after several miles of stumbling through the mud. Loving the experience, he was like a pig in sh*t. Life as a forest ranger could be a distinct possibility.
"This way, keep up old man"
Short of adding a knife holster to his leg, he couldn't look more "badass woodsman" here. Sort of.
The above taken on Saturday as we climbed Luca's favourite hill. He didn't tire. He never did. My legs feel like someone has injected concrete into them. Obviously, as you do.
Both pictures above were taken on Saturday, from Aberdeen beach. The only beach in the world where the polar bears insist on a nice chunky cardigan.
OK, we're veering badly from the standard chronology now. The above image was taken a week ago, as Luca endured a visit to Pittodrie with a hungover Dad to watch a distinctly underwhelming encounter between Aberdeen and St Johnstone. With 0-0 the final score, at least he defeated the featured enormous hot dog. Just look at the determination as he sternly eyes the weirdly textured meat product.
Way off kilter now, the picture above was taken as we (Dad, Ross et al) arrived early for the Partick Thistle V Dundee extravaganza at Firhill several weeks back. Another 0-0 draw, I clearly jinx any prospective entertainment for others when attending live fixtures.
Both the above taken on the same day several weeks ago. When exactly? I can't recall. Where exactly? Ditto. Why am I posting such unrepresentative images? Beats me.
A proper archive picture I stumbled across. Sometimes the desire to stop time and live in the day is overwhelming.
Christmas. A 5 year old (scratch that, he was still 4) contemplates the true religious meaning of Christmas and quietly contemplates those less fortunate than himself. Naturally.
**Useless fact of the day - The interior of the Sun is so vast it could hold over 1,300,000 Earths**
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