Crushing it

For one reason or another it has been a challenging week, so I can’t tell you how much I was looking forward to having the day off and enjoying some quality time with my children.

When you know for certain that the weather is going to be on your side, it really does make planning a day so much easier, so a picnic was prepped, the rap playlist was fired up and we headed out to the West Coast for a visit to Ravenglass.

We had an early lunch by the unbelievably warm sea and enjoyed a paddle – for once I’d remembered bathing suits and towels to accommodate The Youngest’s penchant for taking things further in the “getting wet” stakes. I’d also included their crocs so they didn’t have to worry about their feet being cut to ribbons in the stony brine. It was at this point that the offspring informed me mid-picnic that I was “crushing it” today. I’ll take that.

It would have been nice to linger longer, but we had a small train to catch (The La’al Ratty) to take us into Eskdale. I think I was more excited than the children about this! The little train chugged its way along and was slowed up briefly due to some lambs on the line. We didn’t stay long in Eskdale either as there isn’t much to do there, but we did squeeze in an ice cream, a short walk in the hot sun and a go on the playground for the Wee Ones, which gave The Eldest and I time to catch up.

Matty rested her head on my leg on the return journey and quickly dozed off. M’boy and The Eldest were both enjoying the views from their respective sides of the train, which gave me a precious couple of seconds to take them all in and feel like a proper Dad again.

We made it home just in time for a quick turnaround as The Wee Ones were off for their final cricket session, which was enjoyed with a beer in hand and a chat to one of the other “school dads”. It was such a nice evening, that we didn’t dash off like we normally would and instead we stuck around and so that m’boy and I could play some more cricket whilst The Youngest played with her friends.

It really was the perfect end to the day.