A CoronaCoaster Sunday

It’s been a joyous day of birthday cheer for Mathew, tinged with an undercurrent of anxiety and sadness. The new restrictions and regulations announced yesterday are not affecting us directly, but the atmosphere around the whole country, I suspect, is one of despair and fatigue. We’re just getting excited about the distribution of a vaccine and then wallop! – a new strain of the virus is skipping through the South of England like a group of lambs skipping through a meadow.  This was expected to happen at some point, and it doesn’t make the situation any more fatal than it was at other times this year, but the timing does feel like a bit of a bastard. Another kick in the teeth for people who were starting to step forward with optimism.
Anyway – to the important matter at hand! The Little Fella was spoiled rotten and seemed to love every second of it, even if he didn’t fully comprehend that he was the centre of everything, and why.  He was a bit perplexed by his pile of presents to start with, but once we got him started on the tearing and the ripping, he was at it like a cat at a rabbit. I spent two hours late morning putting together his ‘Play Castle’ and he then had fun jumping around in the ball pond. Then he decided it was much more fun to be climbing in and out of the big box it had been delivered in….
We had Zoom calls with various friends and relatives, and Mathew found it quite funny to be poking the faces on the screen. You just never know what they’ll be excited by at this age, do you? Everyone spends loads on toys and cuddlies and clothing, and in the end his biggest smile is when Philippa’s cousin is on Zoom wearing a Santa hat.
Happy Birthday, son.

RC 20-12-20