7th April 2025

After our attempt to have a picnic on Friday after school was scuppered by the grim and grey weather and the necessity of transporting a handmade motte and bailey model home, when we saw the forecast for today we felt much more hopeful.

I do try to read the weather forecast, though I seldom trust them. I think this is mainly due to Edinburgh’s recurring habit of hosting all four seasons in one afternoon. Thankfully, today I was pleasantly surprised by the forecast and its accuracy and planned a wander and a picnic for lunch.

But first, a scoot!

Even though we are on Easter holidays, I am trying to keep up my running routine. Which I have been managing to do while Wee Daftie is at school as I’m currently off work.

My paid employment job is as an Early Years Assistant (I qualified as a Practitioner in July 2024) at a local primary school. However, I haven’t been to work since November and I’m won’t be back til some time after the Easter holidays. My work has been incredibly supportive. I am so thankful as I need to be the best version of myself for the kids I work with and I’m still a good way off from where I need to be. Getting there but definitely not there yet. I am so grateful to have this time to work on myself and I don’t take it for granted.

It has meant, though, that my running has been a very solo project and now I need to work out how to include Wee Daftie in it, on days that it’s just the two of us.

So why not have a scooting companion?

And no, I definitely didn’t keep pace with her. Honestly, I didn’t even try!

After a good scoot, a decent run and hanging up some washing, we packed a picnic and headed off for the warm embrace of Inverleith Park.

We have had countless trips here over the years. Meeting up with friends, kicking footballs, playing in the playground and, most often for us, visiting the duck pond. It was high on the hill overlooking the pond where we made camp for the afternoon.

We ate our picnic, we played Dobble, Wee Daftie fed the ducks, coots and moorhens some corn, we basked in the sun and we read a book together.

Talking about not taking things for granted. These moments. I don’t take them for granted. My girl is 8 and growing up tall, strong, empathic, daft and resilient. She is courageous and kind. And she won’t always want to sit in the sun and read together. I mean, she might. But the unknown of the future is a gift, even if it feels uncertain or uneasy. So whatever we may do together in the future doesn’t matter right now as I want to enjoy what we do in the present.

And today was great. I think we both might have caught some of the sunshine on our noses. Happy days. We walked, ran and scooted for Simba and it was great.

Long may the sun shine.