Bedtime Stories

(Photo by Clifton Photographic)

Dylan is sleeping face down on top of his duvet, rotated a hundred and eighty degrees from where I left him. The following night, I find him sleeping sideways across his cot with his pillow under one arm and his duvet under the other. This is how he sleeps until we rearrange him. A few nights ago, after I’d tucked him back in, he rolled over and whispered ‘Daddy’ quite contentedly. Forget all that continuity of the human race crap; this is the real reason we have kids. It’s for those perfect, priceless and unforgettable moments. I just hope he was having a good dream.

It takes a dummy and two ducks to settle Dylan down after his bath. Sometimes he’ll have some milk and we usually watch a few episodes of Ben & Holly, but it’s the dummy and ducks that do the trick. Our dentist wants the dummy gone by the time Dylan’s two and I'm thinking we're going to need a third duck—one for each hand and one to chew.

Last night, after lights out, he decided to have some fun at our expense. He was calling for me, so I went up to check on him and found he'd thrown his ducks and water bottle on the floor. Five minutes later, Holly went up and the ducks were on the floor again. He’s realised that if he throws his toys out of the cot, someone will come and put them back. We’ll see how long that lasts.

I’ve been home a month already and it’s flown past. As well as housework, DIY and gardening, I’ve written three short stories (The Baby, Fallen Angels & Perfect Cadence), spent time on my diploma, and managed to find new recipes to try every week. This week’s highlights were tuna with courgettes and cannellini beans (from Jamie Oliver’s 20-Minute Meals Vol. 4), and cod with sweet and sour shallots (from Gordon Ramsay’s Healthy Appetite). Both were excellent recipes but I can’t believe how expensive tuna steaks are.

My DIY challenge this week is to squeeze a H870mm x W600mm x D570mm base unit into the H840mm x W598mm x D570mm space left by the built-in washing machine we gave to Holly’s cousin. I may need some help with this one.

The garden isn’t looking bad. The rhubarb didn’t make it and the rocket patch has been decimated; but the radishes look okay, the apple tree is in blossom and new buds have appeared on the grapevine (my Father’s Day present from last year). In the Grow Rack, we have Gardener’s Delight tomatoes, cabbage, basil, coriander, courgettes and two types of lettuce growing from seed; and the young strawberry and tomato plants are coming along nicely. I just hope I get to eat some of it.

I usually wake up between five and six am, earlier than I did when there was an alarm. I like to be downstairs an hour before Dylan (two hours before Holly), so I can have a cup of tea and do some writing before we start our morning routines. Dylan used to surface around eight but recently he’s been waking up earlier too. Maybe it’s the light spring mornings, or the woodpigeon I can hear over the monitor, but probably it’s just that he knows I’m home. Some mornings he chats to himself, some mornings he cries, but for the last week or so he’s been shouting ‘Daddy!’ And laughing.

Not this morning though. I don't know what that squawk is supposed to be but I'd better go and check.

post scriptum

Ten minutes ago, Holly put Dylan down for his lunchtime nap, and he’s been making thumping noises ever since. I’ve just been up to see what all the fuss is about and he’s emptied his cot. Toys everywhere. When I give him back his ducks and dummy, he lies down and pretends to go back to sleep. Five minutes later, he's banging again and it's the same thing. Trouble? Nope—just a little boy growing up. And he's beautiful when he's asleep.