“Grandpa, is it time to do it?” I am concentrating on tickling the aubergine’s stigmata and the tiny voice just wasn’t computing! I heard the voice, I momentarily looked up, but, ah, who was this small person in my hothouse?
I heard the voice again; I heard and identified an impatient whine. “Grandpa!”
“Oh, hello youngster, have you come to help?” Thomas held up his small trowel and had an uncertain look on his face. “Is it time to do it yet?” “Do what?” “Grandpa, stop humbugging me. You said ages ago we were going to do the highsints!”
Highsints; highsints? What on earth is he on about? Highsints, oh, hang on, we were going to lift and cleave the clumping hyacinths. “Yep, we are almost ready Tom. I just need to sit on the bench for a minute, and catch my breath.” He climbed onto my knee and we surveyed our domain.
This was our special place, shared only by him and me. It was for big boys, ‘not for silly little brothers or sisters,’ I was told.
We had seen a family of fairies yesterday, just behind a huge clump of agapanthus. They looked like they might have been on their way to the beach, as they had buckets and spades, and their Mum was carrying towels and an umbrella. Funny that, as the nearest beach was miles away!
Last week, as we were digging over the strawberry bed, we had actually seen two wombats, a possum, a small kangaroo, a goanna, a numbat and several galahs. They were all sitting in the old apple tree next door. The numbat was eating a big red apple and the possum asked when the strawberries would be ready.
The soft afternoon light gently moved towards an evening chill. We achieved the lifting and separation of the ‘highsints’ and I supervised three small people into the bath. The fleet of small boats, all with two funnels, the two ducks and a watering can made for a squishy undertaking but everyone had fun. The brush removed the final bits of garden from Tom’s fingernails and soap was sparsely passed around the mob’s pits and bums.
Nanny arrived and as I extracted bodies, she was ready with towels, pull-ups for the elder two, a nappy for the youngest and everyone was inserted into PJs that had been warmed on the hydronic radiators.
The kids and I made a Pizza base and everyone helped apply pineapple chunks, mushrooms, ham and strawberry marshmallows – a recent inclusion, and it came out of the oven hot and steamy.
In the bedroom, Tom proudly read the sentence about the old bloke who swallowed that chook. Three sleepy heads cheruped the chorus; “By crikey, that’s crook!” Nanny came in and there were kisses and cuddles. A dash to the loo, rejected calls for more stories and quiet started to descend.
Sunday arvo, a sleepover and Mondays are our weekly grandkid-smooze, but thank you, a generous G&T would be delightful