He led the wayAnd wherever he goes, you follow.You joined the line behind him on his first day,(Indignant when we gently told you no, you couldn’t go.Don’t be in a rush, your time will come,and soon enough).And when I let go of his hand,I still had yours to hold,My littlest.You filled the house with noise […]
parenthood
Behind the Squares
It’s a funny thing, social media. I work in social media and I love Instagram in particular – I love the community of mums and the inspiration I get on a daily basis (everything from clothes and books to mindfulness prompts to places to visit). I also love playing around with photography and words, and […]
Metamorphosis
A poem about becoming a mother In the moment you arrived and your cry echoed through my heart I became someone new. A different version of myself as if I’d stepped from a cocoon. Still the same but changed. So deep deep in love, exhausted, transformed, in awe and terrified. A mother. Still […]
Lucky
Parenthood poetry I woke tired and grumpy today after a night with an unsettled little and a lie-in that was broken up by prodding fingers and shouts and shrieks. I went outside to the garden, cradling a cup of tea drank in some sunshine, picked the last of the sweetpeas, took a few moments […]
A Big Step
When they placed you on my chest and I smiled and said, “Oh, it’s you”, as if I already knew the corners of your face, this day felt so very far away. Baby days spent in a bubble with toddler days stretched out ahead – fort-building, slow toddler-paced walks outdoors, and afternoons curled up in […]
Now You’re Two
You’re two. I look at you and wonder when you changed and how you grew so much before my eyes. I didn’t notice the small changes day by day – it took me by surprise. Suddenly – overnight, or so it seems – you are a little girl with a personality so big and a […]
Do Dolphins Sleep…?
Dear Isaac and Flora You are 4 and 1 (Flora, you will be 21 months old tomorrow). I have a window today where the worlds of nap time and nursery have collided, and instead of having a doze myself, or catching up on emails, or reading, I am writing this. I was sitting here […]
Now She’s One
A year now. Days that have passed in a blink; like the pages of a book left open in the wind. I cling to the here-and-now, before it’s another do-you-remember-when. Now she is one and he is three. The nights are long but I know this time is brief and oh-so-precious, and I try, in the […]
The world at your fingertips
On your bedroom wall there is a brightly coloured felt map of the world which you adore. Felt people, animals and objects are strewn over the globe, attached with velcro, waiting patiently for when you’re old enough to stick them in different countries. Every time we go in and out of your room you stare […]