My oldest and closest friend was back in town this week, and as usual his family here had him completely booked up with appointments to see them all. But we always make a slot to meet up one evening for a pint of beer at my local pub (a pint is all either of us need to get roaring drunk - we are such lightweights, it makes for a VERY cheap night out!) and good old chinwag covering everything from the extremely ridiculous to the slightly sensible.
Fortunately, this time around there wee a couple of hours spare before they were heading home today, so I went around with my ukulele, recorder and an inflatable hammer to meet his daughter (who is nearly 3 years old) and entertain - or be entertained. I have some incredibly cute photos of Little Dizzy, with her Mummy, but I don't have their permission to share them (they probably wouldn't mind, but I think it's not fair to post them without asking Mummy and Daddy first).
For reasons lost in the mists of time, Daddy and Mummy are known to me as Grim and Squeeze (and the lil'un has now become Little Dizzy, see above!), so those are their names for any future references on my blog.
Little Dizzy is wonderfully active - wonderful if you happen not to be her parents, that is! Grim and Squeeze are experiencing the exhaustion of parenthood, and I hear about it frequently. When I played my musical instruments for her, Diz wanted to have a go herself. She played hide-and-seek with Mummy, although her conception of the game seems to be rather different from the usual form (calling out "here I am!" and "No, I'm not over there!" aren't usually a part of hide-and-seek! Also, she seems to think seeking, rather than finding, is the object of the game...) She definitely took to the inflatable hammer, and used it to bop Daddy and Mummy (especially Mummy!) with great glee.
For all her energy and exuberance, though, Dizzy is quite shy and also pretty polite (she's still at the stage of announcing "I want to..." rather than asking "please may I...?" - but she also asks "What can I do now?" and she doesn't just grab at things) Altogether it was a very relaxing and fun time spent in the company of friends with no pressure and lots of engagement. If only engaging with grown-ups could be as easy as I find little kids!
Oh yes - and "Little Dizzy" - because she announced more than once "I'm dizzy!" after doing a rather gymnastic flip from her Daddy's shoulders (Daddy, of course, providing plenty of support and protection against any bumps or falls).
Grim and Squeeze strike me as being wonderful parents and I am so glad to know them both. I've known Grim for a quarter of a century (not always as a friend, but once we became friends, it was permanent!) and Squeeze since they first started dating close to a decade ago now; I've known Little Dizzy only on occasion, but I saw her when she was still only a few weeks old, and I have had chances to visit every now and then since as well. I consider myself very lucky indeed to know them all.
I feel refreshed and much more happy after today's visit. People who can do that are far too rare.
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