Supermarket Run

It's been a while since Little A has accompanied me to the supermarket. We used to go together all the time, in the days when I could just pop him in the trolley and open a box of cornflakes for him to munch on while I got everything on the grocery list.

As he got older and began spending whole days at school, I took to doing the weekly shop as soon as the supermarkets opened, after the school run. Sometimes in the afternoons he would come with me to get one or two things, but most of the time he preferred to stay home.

Recently though, he has been putting out his toy shopping basket and filling it with produce from our refrigerator. I asked if he wanted to accompany me to the supermarket and, on agreeing, he was the most efficient helper, putting in the correct number of items into the shopping trolley, and adding numerous vegetables of his own choice.

Since re-discovering the joys of grocery shopping, he now wants to go regularly, which makes me worry a little for the month-end bill but also ensures our larder is never empty. Apart from his obvious favourite snacks, Little A is becoming familiar with the other things we need for the home.

Next up, kitchen duties. Hopefully within the next few months, I will have a proper little household helper.

Beach Trip

Summer is upon us and we are feeling the heat. Despite living in an archipelago, our family has not made many beach trips in the past ten years. Little A is used to our mountain holidays, which is where we choose to escape twice a year to enjoy cooler weather.

Before meeting me, in his twenties Big A used to spend every weekend under water. He is a licensed Technical Diver and earned his certification with hundreds of hours spent in the sea. I, on the other hand, am more comfortable on land, and prefer to lie on the sand working on a perfect tan.

We went on some beach trips until we were married, but when Little A came along we only managed one as a family, as our son did not like sand. We planned to rectify this and go on more beach trips together, and one opportunity came along just as the school year ended.

The parents at Little A's school have a support group that meets monthly. Sometimes we have a guest speaker, other times we just have breakfast and share stories. Certain months are given to family activities, and we decided summer should be one of these.

One parent recommended a beach resort just three hours' drive from the city, so we booked some rooms and headed there the day after the school's end of year show. There were about six families in all, and it was a very enjoyable weekend.

While I settled our bags in our room, Big A took Little A down to the water to see the sea. I came down a few minutes later to find Little A fully dressed, in the water. After racing back for his swim trunks and changing into swimwear myself, I joined him and tried to keep up as he swam off with incredible speed and ease, despite the salt water, towards the nearest outrigger boat.

Big A came back down in his swimwear just as I despaired of ever catching up with our son. Little A is a self-taught, confident swimmer with no fear of depths, and he headed off to a raft that was maybe fifty yards from shore and anchored in 30 feet or more of water. Big A kept up with him easily, and I lagged behind, taking photos.

We enjoyed the sunset from the raft, and the next morning rented a boat to take us to a nearby island with a sandy bottom. Little A loved the boat ride and the morning swim, climbing up at wooden outrigger and jumping into the water repeatedly until we had to go back to check out of the resort.

In the days following, Little A would ask to go back to the beach, crying when we told him it had to be planned well in advance. We will plan the next one, seeing as how he enjoyed this one, and look forward to many family beach trips in the future.