I love the way that certain times of day indicate transitions that are always the same, like little anchors that I can rely on for their consistency when much of the day requires a lot of flexibility and willingness to change our plans. Six o' clock signals the end of dinner and the arrival of my husband, returning home from work. With his return comes a wonderful transition in Ruby, who has normally reached the end of her energy, but is always delighted to see Daddy come through the door.
Today, we were started dinner a little later than normal, due to our bread baking session running into the time when Ruby normally eats. I use the term 'our' baking session loosely, as Ruby's involvement consisted of prodding and pulling the dough. I love that she is at an age where she is becoming more and more interested in what I am doing, and today, I took the dough down to her level on the floor so that she could get her hands involved as I knocked back the dough, ready for it's second prove.
It felt like things had shifted a little at dinner today; Ruby has barely eaten any food in the last week, due to being unwell, and the times that I have attempted to offer her food have mostly involved a lot of launching food all over the floor. (Her current specialty is throwing food behind her.) But today, she was visibly excited about eating, and devoured her chilli and quinoa, followed by orange segments and greek yoghurt. She has not yet grasped that you don't have to eat the skin of the orange too, but she's getting there. I talked to her about my memories of eating orange segments during hockey matches at secondary school, and she giggled away in response. It was a refreshing change to have laughter at the dining table instead of frustration. And that was six o' clock in our house.
Beautiful, Hannah.
ReplyDeleteRonnie xo