On Saturday we went Geocaching in the Murieston area of Livingston. It was a lovely day, if a bit windy, and we all had a fun time wandering around the paths and trails. The actual cache we were looking for was located out in the countryside, in a spot with a marvellous view of an old arched railway bridge.
But possibly the best part of the day came after we’d taken the train back to Edinburgh. We got off at Haymarket and walked up to Princes St. After a short side trip to Waterstones (to pick up the new Michael Marshall Smith book) and Maccas (for some strawberry milkshakes) we wandered down to the kids’ play area in the gardens.
Alex is now big enough that, for much of the time, we can leave him to toddle around play areas on his own. We don’t need to follow two steps behind him any more. The bigger kids usually give him space, and he really enjoys exploring the climbing frames, steps, and slides on his own. (When he’s particularly excited he still grabs us by the hand and leads us to wherever he’s going, though.
After a few trips up and down the slide, he wandered over to an area that was more of his size: the wooden platform. It’s about two meters in diameter, barely raised from the ground, and partly surrounded by little walls just above his head height. The walls have cool toys built into them: one has a curved mirror, one has a series of plexiglass bubbles you can look out of, and another has a series of chunky chimes (well, just an ordered set of metal pipes hung vertically, really).
There was another little boy there as well. He was just Alex’s height, but looked to be maybe a wee bit older. He was playing with the chimes, and Alex went over to join him. The other boy looked up at me, and I smiled. The boy’s dad stood on the other side of the platform, looking on in amusement. I imagine I must have looked much the same: a proud grin on my face.
The two boys didn’t actully play together, but they played side-by-side. They were aware of each other, and they generally avoided getting in each other’s way. They didn’t share, or hand over between activities, but the seed of future play was there. I could see how, in just a few months time or less, Alex will be going up to other toddlers and playing with them rather than just near them.
Occasionally he would look up at me and giggle. Then Abi came over and played peek-a-boo with him behind the plexiglass bubbles. He laughed. The afternoon sun shone down on us. Alex’s future, and our own, seemed paved with golden moments just like that one.
