13 Comments
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Anna Schott's avatar

I do enjoy reading about Other Parents' Experiences. You're providing a real service here. One of the highlights of my weekend, my birthday actually, was going to the beach, where we sat near a family with three little kids. They were trying to have a picnic. My husband and son wandered off. I watched as the mom become more and more tight-lipped and the demands and squalling reached fever-pitch... and I enjoyed every minute of it.

Andy Carter's avatar

Thanks, Anna! Haha - I don't think there's any shame in that.

Also, Happy Birthday!

Charlotte Stephens's avatar

Have you been following me again, Anna?

Margaret Bennett's avatar

You perfectly recreate the ‘ambience’ of parenting Andy. And yes to getting out the house, ideally in one piece though.

Andy Carter's avatar

Thanks, Margaret. Yep, it’s essential, isn’t it? Even at the moment when it’s freezing cold and driving rain here.

Sophie McManus's avatar

Hilarious. Especially

‘Joshua nodded off after twenty minutes and 9.5 plays of ‘Say Hello to the Sun’ but Jacob was having none of it and sat, saucer-eyed, occasionally making weird roaring noises. In what seemed like a calculated move, he eventually fell asleep when we were a 200 metres away from our house, so we started doing some laps around the local area.’

What is the age gap between your sons?

Andy Carter's avatar

Thanks, Sophie! Two year gap between ours - this was a few years back, they’re now 6 and 8, which is for the most part really lovely. Lots of wresting though!

Charlotte Stephens's avatar

Two things. 1/Ben Affleck's personal life is fascinating, and a valid way to spend your only free time – if only to laugh at the many, many variations of 'FML' photos that exist of him. 2/ I'm with Joshua, sometimes going to the same park over and over is VERY BORING. I keep trying to find new inventive ways to get to the park just to stop my brain dying off from the repetition, but it makes very little difference.

Will still go at the weekend, obviously. Can't risk deviating from the norm and having a terrible time.

Andy Carter's avatar

Haha. Some of those photos are wonderful. He is an intriguing guy, isn't he? Whether he can act or not is possibly a question for another day.

We recently tried a new park - other side of Leeds - and had a bang average time there. On the way back, I spent several minutes in a bus lane and got fined. That'll teach me to try new things...

Lewis Holmes's avatar

Alone time should be nationally mandated or something. Remember your hour of exercise a day during lockdown? Like that, except it's just fluffy clouds and happy thoughts and no global pandemic.

Andy Carter's avatar

😂 That sounds pretty great.