Frozen

Day 33 - 9:51am, Saturday 2nd February

Little Mister is off camping with the Scouts at lunchtime. He is to be away for 24 hours - but you might think it was a week, the amount of clothes I have given him - just in case. Character building, hubby says. Little Mister is unphased by it all, more interested in trying to squeeze in that last game of Fortnite before the wild calls him and he goes into digital detox. Hubby, bless him, has agreed to go as a parent helper this afternoon in my place. I have been wheezing for almost a week, with a cold has been flitting around my body looking for a hook up; thankfully, it has never gone much beyond a first date, but I wish it would take no for an answer and move on.

When he leaves, Little Miss and I accompany Little Master to taekwon-do. Little Miss sees the swans huddled in the centre of Craiglockhart pond, which is otherwise frozen solid, and feels sorry for them. Little Master on the other hand is desperately excited that it is frozen and wants to go down to it. I do not let him, and distract him by the promise of snowball fights on the way home. So, they leave the Leisure Centre with a spring in their step and run on ahead of me, trying to find the last untouched patches of snow to scoop up and plant on one another. He comes off better than Little Miss.

Nearly home, both of them stop at the canal to admire it in its full frozen glory. Again, the ice sirens call to Little Master. I talk to him about the dangers of walking on frozen water and lure him back with the promise of an untouched back garden, awaiting their pillaging. Five minutes of churning is enough to clear the garden of its snowball potential and we carry on.

When Little Master also goes off on a play date, Little Miss seizes the opportunity to watch a film. Taking advantage of the fact that she doesn't first need to reach a consensus with her brothers, she chooses Frozen. We cuddle in, wrapped in blankets and watch. It seems apt.