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The big news on this trip to Cheddar is that Phoebe is very nearly as tall as her grandma now. I think I'd already mentioned that Phoebe's legs are as long as my legs (I'm all torso, short limbs and tiny hands), but maybe by out next visit she will have surpassed my mum in height, though admittedly she's helping out by shrinking a bit!
It's all going too fast for me. My niece was round with her two tiny daughters and I tried to get the 22-month old to do "Somebody's hiding, I wonder who, it's a little baby and she's waving at you" bit from the book Phoebe used to have. It must be 9 years since I was delighted that Phoebe could do all the actions and now look at her.
It's weird being a great-uncle because that's the kind of tit;e that would usually go to an old, old man of almost 60, not me. The baby is just 8 months old and she seemed quite happy to sit on me and found me quite funny. It's nice to hold a baby again, but I didn't feel broody. It was bad enough having my second kid when I was 50, but I don't want to start from scratch at 59 or 60. I am not really anticipating much or any post-kid time in my life, but there's no point in making it certain.
The older great-niece finds me a bit scary or strange. Every time I see her for the first time she runs away crying. Most kids seem fascinated and amused by me, but the occasional one is able to see through to my rotten heart and I make them cry. I like to think it's because I am so handsome that some children with sensitive souls are unable to take in my beauty without it hurting their eyes, like the sun. But who knows?
By lunchtime she was happy to sit at the kitchen table with me. She thought Ernie was hilarious, but I got nothing. There's obviously something wrong with her sense of humour. And about 85% of adults' sense of humour.
My 89-year-old dad has been a bit poorly and obviously when any 89-year-old isn't very well, it's a bit scary. I wa maybe looking a bit worried and Phoebe asked me if I was all right. I told her that it was sad for me because that was my daddy and she'd feel bad if her daddy wasn't very well. She seemed unsure about that, but she realised that saying that had made me a little emotional and she came over and gave me a hug and then she got a bit emotional. That parent/child relay race extends back through time (at least for those lucky enough to have parents -or children -that deserve our love).
And the prospect of all those young lives going onward (even in the bleak future that Ally painted yesterday) is a wonderful thing. The baton passes and you can't hold on to it forever or the race is lost.
There are (I think) thirteen people in this world who wouldn't exist without my mum and dad. And at least ten of those people are cracking human beings. It's a pretty good hit rate.
RHLSTP Book Club with Fergus Craig is up today. Listen here.
