Unexpected Visitors

I had some unexpected visitors yesterday. My daughter and grand-daughters came from out of town and spent the afternoon with me. It was one of the nicest surprises I've had for a long time.

We didn't go anywhere, we just sat and talked and I was able to play with the girls but, unfortunately, I never once thought of getting the camera out and taking a few pictures. I should have done, especially as Madison is now finding her feet and is able to walk. She still needs to hold on to the furniture but she has learned how to stand up by herself and she can walk the whole length of the sofa. She's still not confident enough to walk unaided but she's getting there. I think she's doing really well to say that she is only ten months old.

Vicki Lou on the other hand, well, there's no stopping her. At three years old she is full of energy and always on the move. I don't think she sat down for more than a few minutes at a time before she was up and finding something else to do. What I'd give to have that sort of energy again. Her talking is coming along nicely too, she's managing to say what she wants and its a lot easier to understand her now. I don't think she fully understands what she is saying yet though because, after going to to bathroom and weighing herself on granddad's scales, she came back into the living room and proudly announced that she is two stone. I'm sure she has no idea what "two stone" is, but it was great to see her being so outspoken about it.

I don't think it's going to be long before her mum and dad are telling her to be quiet. It's funny how parents spend the early years teaching their children how to walk and talk, then for the rest of their childhood they're telling them to 'sit down and shut up'. I don't have to put up with the non-stop talking for every minute of every day, so I'm quite happy for the girls to come along and talk to me. Ever since Vicki Lou was born I've said to her mum that I can't wait to have a full-blown conversation with her, where we can sit and discuss the day's events, what she's been doing, what she thinks, and what she'd like. That day is not so far away now, it's not going to be long before we can sit and have our conversations.

It's great seeing the girls, it really is, but it makes me feel a bit guilty. Before they were born it was just me and my daughter. It was just us two that used to do things together, it was just the two of us that used to go places, and it was us that used to have those long conversations. We used to talk for hours.

It doesn't seem that long ago that Tracy used to come to stay at my house overnight and we'd put a DVD on to watch. We might have started the movie at around 7.00pm, but we never got to see any of it - we'd talk all the way through it. And we would often carry on talking till one or two o'clock in the morning before one of us realised that it was past our bed time. But even that changed during her later visits. She had to get up early for work so we had to stop with the long chats so that she could have an early night.

I can't remember what we used to talk about, but I know we talked for hours on end, and it wasn't just a one-off either, it was like that every time she visited. We had to tell each other to stop talking if we wanted to watch a DVD. And that's why I feel guilty when she comes with the girls. It seems that all my attention is on the girls and Tracy is somehow pushed into the background.

Obviously that's not how it is, but that's how it feels. We don't get to do anything together any more. It feels as though we're not as close as we used to be but that's life I suppose. We all have to move on, we can't live in the past forever. It's a few years away yet, but before you know it, it's going to be Tracy's turn to be having those late night conversations with Vicki Lou and Madison.