A routine is emerging.

Last night, Philip and Rosemary came around with the children after school - bathed, fed and put them to bed and went home when they had gone to sleep.  They would have preferred granny and grandad to be here, so we left it a bit loose on that score.  So at 1am when Henry woke, he went in search of them on the next floor down.  He was pretty upset but, unlike most men, was easily convinced that my bed was a jolly good substitute - and there followed 2 plus hours of reading "the pirate book" and then discussing its contents in great depth.

So this morning he continued to sleep and I had my shower - only to find, on emerging, that Kitty had fully dressed herself in the school uniform granny had laid out for her and was waiting for me at the top of the stairs.

We then descended the 42 blooming stairs for breakfast, where it was found that great aunts don't mind in the least if weetbix and coco pops are combined, or if bread/toast is slathered in peanut butter and folded in half.   Perhaps it's not so bad after all!

I'd arranged to meet Gabriel, Idris and Nye down the street to walk to school together, but true to form she was running late ... had forgotten to tell me that she'd agreed to take the little boy who lives right next to me ...so we doubled back for him and practically ran to school in time for the first bell.  

Then - knowing Rachel's walking regime for me, she suggested we walk across the park with another friend and her 10 month puppy.   What she omitted to say was that it was exactly one mile to the top of the hill (oh, ok, slope!) and then we had to go back again ... so in all I must have exceeded 4 miles today in misty, soaking rain.

Kitty is really enjoying the little scavenger hunts that I do for her each day - and Henry is a very fast learner!  Today's treat is a "Frozen" lollipop - the film, not temperature - so that should do no end of good for the appetite at supper (posh eh? For "supper" read "light tea" - cooked school lunches being the order of the day)

So at last I feel as though I am being some help and hope that Rosemary and Philip will make the most of this brief respite for them.  It now seems that Rachel won't move to the hospice until the end of the week and before that, Philip has the unenviable task of explaining the situation to the children.  

It will be so much easier for them to see their mum for whatever time she has left and I'm hopeful that now she will be closer to home, Will will take time off work and come out to Cirencester so that the children can see more of him.  He's been loathe to leave Rachel in London (where he works) on her own understandably, so has only been seeing them at the weekends when R and P take them to London and can visit Rachel as well.

Tomorrow I'm meant to be having lunch at Gabriel's and we're going to sort out some of the photos we've been taking recently.  If there are any good ones, I may just put some on the blog but don't expect too many of me!!