An impromptu date

So, it's February and the month lives up to its reputation of being somewhat wet, cold and windy. Now this is all very well if you have a backlog of great DVD's to watch, a waistline that can cope with a vast quantity of naughty nibbles, an open fire and time eternal... Scrub all of those off my list and replace with one toddler that requires entertainment and stimulation. The wet has been going on for so long that even my little man has grown tired of splashing in puddles and has started to refuse to go out! So what to do? It is a weekday morning and we had plans to go visiting friends in the afternoon but we still had a morning to fill. By mid morning we had built brick towers to knock down, finger painting, made a kitchen from a coffee table where we 'cooked' and 'drank tea'. We had read books together and done puzzles. The Little Man was starting to suffer from increasing volume which under the circumstances was totally understandable, but as PM had been on nights a quiet house, so he could sleep before his next shift, was essential. My imagination was almost exhausted but there was one job that did need doing and it did mean getting out of the house.
When your baby starts to walk he becomes a toddler as he is, well, toddling around. Shoes become a part of his daily requirements and so once he is sturdy off we go to the shoe shop, have his feet measured and buy his first pair of shoes. Yet another milestone reached. As instructed we returned after six weeks to check for fitting and all was fine with a suggestion to 'come back in two weeks' which we ended up doing every two weeks for the next two months. Then I left it a month and still in needed more time. Eventually, after Christmas, he finally went up half a size and required a new pair of shoes - which was just as well as I had left his shoes in West Sussex where we spent the festive period in the delightful company of my parents and siblings. The weather was appalling, we needed to be out of the house and as it had been 6 - 8 weeks I thought we would get his feet checked so we headed off to our local shopping centre, Bluewater. Now to most people, Bluewater is a place to slowly stroll around, browsing round a wide variety of shops, making occasional purchases, stop for a spot of leisurely lunch and while away a lazy day. For an adventurous toddler it is a haven of 'up and down'. The moment we walked in his eyes lit up and he head straight for the stairs. Up we went. Once at the top he spotted the escalator, so down we went. Already we had been up and down and gone nowhere. With distractions of 'oh look, a circle in the window' we made slow progress past a few shops. Then he spotted the lifts. Buttons to push and then up we went. Out we come, oh look, stairs, so down we went again. You get the picture. It took an hour to get him from car park to Clarks, if I had been alone it would of taken me three minutes! On the plus side he was happy, engaged, learning (he is a whizz on the escalator, no fear there at all) and quite worn out. 30 seconds in the shoe shop - one feel of his shoes and we got 'come back in about five weeks' so off we went again. As we walked past a coffee shop a thought crossed my mind... would it be a total disaster to take Little Man in and we have a drink? There was only one way to find out. In we went, he chose a smoothie and I queued. He didn't much like the waiting but as it was quiet and there was a table by the till I sat him on a grown up chair, gave him Makka Pakka from my handbag (I don't know many mums with a one year old that don't have a character from 'In the Night Garden' stashed away in a bag or pocket for emergencies)and there he stayed, as good as gold, waiting. I brought over his smoothie and my 'flat white' and there we sat, my son and I, with our drinks of choice and had a chat. I just couldn't believe that we were sitting like any other two people who had gone for coffee and a catch-up. My baby, now 19 months old and being such a grown up. OK so maybe the conversation wasn't like any others but I found it interesting and entertaining, comparing the hot and cold of our drinks, pointing out shapes we could see around us and discussing Waybaloo. For me he was the perfect impromptu date. It was such a pleasurable experience that I am wondering if I should consider a repeat - a mistake or good idea? There is only one way to find out and that is to give it a go. I am thinking this Saturday morning while PM has to sleep. Keep your fingers crossed for us...