What a relief it has been for the last few days, not to get wet on exiting the house. I actually like the rain - I don't mind getting wet, and I have never been one of those women who fusses about what water does to the state of their hair. But the wet weather was getting a little monotonous - especially because we have been blessed with some beautiful springs over the last few years. In fact, March and April, and perhaps May, have often been more clement than the summer months. So the rain came as a surprise this year, and literally a bit of a dampener.
And it has gone on, and on. In late February I bought an annual family pass for some nearby gardens. It has been so wet since - or we have been busy on the odd days that it has been dry - that we went for the first time today. It was a wonderful afternoon - the children love the place, although there is not a great deal to do there. They charge around, playing hide and seek and other games, and Paul and I amble around feeling very lucky to be alive. They have even relaxed the rules now so that you can take your dog, on a lead, so our little dog came too and had a very nice time (as far as I could tell - she was certainly doing all the appropriate tail wagging and happy-looking panting that we we associate with happiness in canines). Perfect.
I got my bicycle out yesterday, for the first time since I had my bunion operation last July. My feet are fine now, by the way, although they took far longer to heal than I had expected. I look after them assidiously - after all the years of ignoring my feet because I didn't like the look of them, I now realise how important these appendages are (is appendage the right word for a foot? It looked wrong so I just looked it up, and it is the right term after all). I moisturise and massage them every night, and today my toenails are nicely shaped and painted pink. I intend never to neglect such an important part of my body again.
Where was I? - oh yes, cycling. Little daughter and I went up to town on our bikes yesterday, and it was such a success that we went again today, with her sister and a friend. I always make sure the children wear their helmets - they have grown up with this safety precaution actually, and they wouldn't think of doing anything else. But I have never worn one - not because of vanity, but just because I never have worn one. I know I should though - a dear friend was killed on his bicycle some years ago, and I have heard of some serious accidents where a cycle helmet would almost certainly have acted as damage limitation. (Although there is another point of view that motorists actually take less care if a cyclist is wearing a helmet as they think he is then less likely to get injured).
Anyway, yesterday I felt guilty about my non-helmet wearing stance - what sort of example was I setting after all? - and so today I wore one for the first time. It is one of the children's cast-offs, so it didn't fit properly, but at least it was there - and soon I am going to buy myself a proper one. It was lovely to ride my bike to the town - quick and easy, with no worries about parking or traffic queues, and so I have resolved to do this during the week for shopping whenever possible, instead of driving in. Wearing a helmet, of course.
The rain is back tomorrow, so the dear old BBC say, and on Tuesday too. But there is sunshine in the offing again for Wednesday and Thursday - so hurrah, and rejoice and everything. Spring hopefully will soon have sprung at last.
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