Paddington

We're visiting my in-law's this weekend as my husband and his father are in a member/guest golf tournament.  During this time, my mother-in-law and I are spending time with the children together.   My son has been very occupied with some of the toys that his father had from when he was a child.   We are talking about trucks, cars and flying machines.  There have been lots of, "emergencies" and people have been saved while he plays quietly in the basement.

My daughter has been working on her singing and dancing.   At several points, we weren't sure she was going to stop singing and dancing.    But eventually, they get tired and it's time to get ready for bed.

My mother-in-law has many things from when my husband was a child, including books he loved and remembers.  I was cleaning up the toys and clothes when I heard the story in the next room that had begun.   It was one of the Paddington books.  Paddington is a bear who lives in London and loves marmalade sandwiches.    I had forgotten about Paddington.    I loved Paddington.

He was named for Paddington Station, one of the main Tube stations in London, and the location where he was found.   I spent the entire summer of my eighth year in England with my parents and a large group of college students.   During that time, my parents got me a collection of the Paddington books.

I loved those books.  When I was older and attending that same college that hosted the group I had gone to England with over a decade before, I moved into my first home, a small townhouse.   I became friends with my neighbor and her three children and I shared my Paddington books with them.

I had assumed they knew it was something I wanted back, but later when I asked, they had no idea where the books were.   I told myself someday I'd get another copy of the books.    This was long before the internet, eBay and Amazon, but I was going to find those books again some day.

I largely forgot about them, remembering from time to time but not having a need to find them.   Now, with children who are getting more interested in stories, I'm going to make sure we have the Paddington books so we can read them together.

The Big Boy Update:  When the children went to bed last night my daughter wasn't settling well.   My husband waited outside of the room, listening to her say, "I wanna go home" for six minutes (he was watching his watch.)   When he went back in the room to check on her after she had quieted down, my son said to him, "Reese did it.  That crying was Reese."

The Tiny Girl Chronicles:  Singing and dancing.  My daughter has been singing and dancing in the kitchen at my in-law's house for the past forty-five minutes, non-stop.  She has a hand towel she keeps putting on the floor, placing just so, standing on top of it and then singing something (very loudly) that we can't quite understand, accompanied by a marching-type of dance.   When she's done we clap, she smiles, and then starts again.   I think, but I'm not sure, that the towel represents the "movement space" they have in the classroom at school.    The dancing and singing is all her.  One time when she was done she asked us, "guys, do you know that song?"   The only thing we could identify were the bits where she would repeat, "let it go, let it go" from the movie Frozen.