So today, Scotland truly lived up to it's stereotypes. Abrupt weather changes, midges ripping people to bits, people drinking at 1 in the afternoon & people unnecessarily removing their clothing as soon as the temperature breaks through 5 degrees >_<
So, it was lovely this morning. Sun splitting the trees, nice & warm, dry. As the morning passed, we asked the kids if they fancied going out. Nothing fancy, just a walk down the Glen (the local woodlandsy type area) & a trip to the swing park. Result! Four extremely pleased children, eager to get on the move. Then comes the actual leaving the house part. C decides actually he wants to skip the walk altogether & go straight to the swing park. No can do I'm afraid little man, needed to get the walk out of the way first as there were a few ominous grey clouds lurking in the distance & didn't want trapped in the bloody woods if the weather changed. For some reason, this warranted a ridiculously dramatic reaction. Tears, screams & a strange take on using interpretive dance to convey his upset. A sort of cross between breakdancing & rolling about. Breathtaking, truly breathtaking. Eventually we manage to leave the house.
Now, one of the entrances into the Glen is about 5 minutes from the house, by an adult, at a casual pace. With 4 children between the ages of 2 & 11, this journey must have taken just shy of half an hour. Every single ladybug, every ant, every dog in it's garden... Now, don't get me wrong, I'm happy to take our time & marvel at the world around us with the children but in incredibly clammy weather with B & the older 2 boys racing on in front, E & I were left alone with the toddler & no sense of direction whatsoever. Thankfully, we had the good sense to fling the toddler on my back & hotfoot it towards the boys.
As soon as we break through the first lot of trees, I instantly realise our mistake. It's absolutely sweltering. Not comfortably warm but sweltering. It's so clammy & the midges were having a field day. I'm convinced I can still feel my face crawling as I sit here 9 hours later. Sensibly, B decides that there should be an adult at the front & an adult at the back with all the children walking in the middle. Little did I know, I was the unlucky bugger getting stuck at the back. For those who don't know me, I'm the biggest scardeycat in the whole world. You name anything & I can guarantee you I will find an aspect of it I find terrifying. So me looking over my shoulder every two minutes filled with sheer terror took some of the fun away from the experience. But the children had a great time, getting away from the computers & tellies & getting some exercise. I must admit, there were a few hairy moments (on my part) where I was terrified one of the kids were going to fall into the (rushing) water but we all managed back unscathed & pretty happy.
So we headed on towards the swing park, kids full of joy that we were finally there. All of them finds a spot to play or an activity to do & no sooner had O gotten his butt down the slide, the heavens opened. Now, I'm not talking a little drizzle of rain, I'm talking torrential downpour. Hurrying B along with O to get him out of the rain, E stayed behind to help me get W home. The slowest walker in history. Again, a 5 minute journey ended up taking 20 & we ended up home like drowned rats. Thankfully the horrendously loud thunder decided to wait until we got home & didn't last particularly long. Still awfully clammy at 11.35pm though.
Today's lessons learned: You live in Scotland. Check the weather before you leave the house. Never take any bit of sunshine for granted. Dress for all 4 seasons on a daily basis. Don't go into the woods if you're a scaredycat. Carry midge spray when going into the woods. And, I repeat. Remember you live in Scotland!!!
- M
No comments:
Post a Comment