The final instalment of the Nonna Diaries

The time has come, the end is near, its time to post…..the final instalment of the Nonna Diaries.

This can only mean one thing, the holiday is over. Boooooo. But on the plus side, we are reunited with our little man who we of course missed very much. Yeahhhh!

Day Six

Early start. 5.40! Its a mystery to me why , as I am one for routine, the process for bedtime normally follows a timetable of sorts, why can’t his sleep pattern do the same! Why can’t he wake up 7am every morning, we know he can. So after the, ‘Barney its not even 6 o’clock moan from me, he decides to use the ‘I need a wee Nonna ‘ ruse. Up we get. Back to bed and no we cannot go downstairs yet.

He then goes for the big one – ‘Nonna, I need a poo’ Now, I knew he didn’t, he knew he didn’t but he was not about to back down when I issued the ‘Are you sure Barney, because if I have to get out of bed and you don’t do a poo, I will be very upset’ threat ! I wonder what went through his mind as I marched him back to the toilet. Did he think to himself, ‘Blimey, I’m going to be in big trouble now’???? He certainly has the intelligence to work out how to get what he wants. Is he able to work out the consequences? Obviously not!!! He didn’t do a poo. I was not happy, he was upset, we didn’t talk for about half an hour. He apologised, it was an accident he said! I tried to explain that he had lied to me. Wonder if this is another lesson learnt? Will let you know!

Early brekkie!

I collected him early from nursery. The weather turned snowy and I just wanted him home. He didn’t seem impressed with the snow, which by the time I collected him had already turned slushy, and all he wanted to do was get back to The Egg!!! Luckily, I had taken things a step further by getting it out of its shell, so he was delighted with the progress. I can do no more now, it just has to grow. What on earth is this thing made of?!

Tomorrow is our last night together, his parents are back Saturday. He is so sweet when I tell him how I am going to miss him, he gets a pained expression on his face, taps me gently on the back and says, ‘don’t worry Nonna, I will be back next week’!!!!!

Day Seven

Me to Barney – “Barney, I’m, going to cry when you leave me tomorrow”. Barney to me – ‘Nonna, can you wait until I’ve gone’!!!! Not quite the response I was expecting!

He is very excited about his parents return. Almost as excited as when I told him, no school tomorrow! I really think we underestimate children. They see and feel so much more than we give them credit for. Even though he has been happy here with me, I know that he misses his parents. Technology being what it is he has spoken/seen them every night on Skype. Isn’t that wonderful. I know when I am away the fact that I can communicate with my family makes separation so much easier.

So I will reflect on my week with Barney. Its been satisfying, enriching, amusing and has in part taken me back to when my girls were children. There is something about being needed. The routine, the making sure he has eaten, brushed his teeth, drunk his milk, done his wee/poo, that he has clean clothes for school, taking him, picking him up. All the things that parents do. Its been a long time since that has been my life. As much as I have enjoyed this, in the same breathe, I am looking forward to tomorrow night when I can have my camomile, bath, tv and bed without interruption, wake up when I want to. Parenting is hard, relentless work. That’s the perk of being a grandparent, you can give them back. I get the best of both worlds!

I’ve said this before, I am aware that the day will come when he won’t want to visit his old Nonna, he will have better things to do. So I will make the most of my time with him.

I will now sign off, the Nonna Diaries are finished for another year. I hope you have enjoyed our week together. Here’s to next year!

ps I will give you all updates of The Egg!!

Nonna and her boy!

Related posts:

The Nonna Diaries – The Final Countdown The Nonna Diaries Part 2 The Nonna Diaries – Day 1 & 2