I remember writing this ages ago! It was my very first term break with Chiyaa and tiny Pumpki. Now both are in school, Chiyaa in high school! And I just enjoyed my February half term with them. I must confess it was my best half term everrrrrrr!!
With Chiyaa in high school, our wake up times have moved to an earlier time since she needs to be out of the door somewhere around 740. Pumpki still has an 40 more mins before her school start. So while I need to wake up around 0630 on a school day, with the school holidays I could wake up at 0800. It was full 90 minutes of extra sleep! OMG that itself is enough to close the case as the best half term ever ever ever.
I let the girls be by themselves for the first 3 days. Since they are at an age where they have similar interests, they get along well - well most of the time. Their plan was lego for this time. So though the living room was an utter mess, there was some solid play time invested there. It was wonderful to see them creatively weave their way around the different creations of theirs. After some lunch it was time for another shared interest of theirs - video games. Pumpki doesnt quite have the dexterity to play some of the tougher games, but she does a swell job watching Chiyaa play and cheering her on. It was amazing to see them enjoy those sessions as well. I mandated some time for reading and practicing their musical instruments. Those boxes ticked, with an intermittent reminder to drink water and have some fruits - that was pretty much my job done for taking care of them 😂
3 days flew and the next 2 days I was on leave. Thursday we went to the city centre. The idea was to meet K and have a quick meal some where. But we chanced to meet a family friend as well and she joined us! More the merrier! We had some amazing pizza and then said our good byes. We went to shop for some mats for the girl's new room and a couple of plant pots as well. That done, we trekked to visit my sister who lives in city centre. The idea was to surprise her, but it ended up being a flop since she was not at home and we had to ring to find where she was and how long she might take 😝 The kids love visiting their aunty anytime and they had a good time stretching their legs. My sis had to get on with her work and we bid our second set of good byes before making our way back home 😊 It was a lovely day but the next day our plans were even bigger.
As a treat for Chiyaa's birthday I had booked in a nails pamper session with the girls. We had some manicure and pedicure done and our nails painted as well. It was the first for the girls and they hugely enjoyed it! By the time we were out, we were starving and rushed to the nearest cafe to get some food. We got some flowers and some grocery cos why not and marched home. The girls just loved showing off their newly painted nails.
On Sunday I had to visit another town to see off a friend. She was my room mate in Hyderabad in India. She had been in the UK for the past 5 years. And if one stays in a place for 5 years, one tends to accumulate stuff. Some stuff one doesn't feel like throwing away. She had tried to get rid of most of her belongings that she couldn't carry, sell or donate locally. But some she wanted me to take for safe keeping. Either she would make a trip back and collect them God willing, or she rather I use it instead of someone else. Since she has a 16 months old baby, my kids really enjoy going to her place. It was an amazing day with her kids and helping her wrap up stuff. It was an emotional experience saying that good bye for sure because one has no idea where life will take us and where we might meet again. We have somehow managed to meet once every 5-6 years by the twists and turns of fate which is not true for so many lovely people who have come through in my life 😕 It also made me nostalgic of all the house moves we had done in the UK. Approximately 5 in 7. years before we finally settled in this house. I remembered us leaving Ipswich where we were quite unplanned and had to leave a ton of stuff with a family friend. It has been 7 years since we saw them *sigh* One day ours paths will cross again, till then we have Whatsapp 😌
Since we had this trip on Sunday, and the next day was the start of the new school session, we were more or less sorted ahead of schedule. Chiyaa and Pumpki took their time in the evening for some more uninhibited telly time before hitting the bed for the next school session on Monday. I must say it was the most amazing half term I have ever had. It was full of so much activity, so many emotions and so many experiences that it was the most whole some block of days. Touchwood, heres to many more 🙏
No comments:
Post a Comment