The week just gone, I have had Thursday off work as my ‘work life balance’ (WLB) day – basically WLB is where I work extra hours in the office during a fortnight and therefore have the time accrued as a day off; a bit like flexi-time but more structured.
Anyway, I was off work and at home with Claire and Jack, at least until Claire suggested that I took Jack to Rhyme Time, held in the library at Chatteris.
Rhyme Time is a half-hour get-together for mums and babies/toddlers, where the group of mums involve themselves and their children in the activities…
Here’s how my darling wife sold it to me -
- “If you’re going to have Jack on a Thursday when I go back to work, you might as well take him to things like Rhyme Time…”
- “There’s not many people there, it’s normally half full or so…”
- “…quite often there are other dads there…”
- “…it’s just rhyming, you don’t have to do anything.”
Yeah. Either way, I felt suckered into it, so I went, in the interests of Jack.
Here’s how it really was.
- It was packed. There were more moaning mums per square mile than I have ever experienced before.
- I was the only male over 5 years old in the room.
- I could see people nudging each other and doing that pointing across the room with their eyes and nose, but without using their finger.
- AND there was group-singing, not just this ‘rhyming’ that I ‘didn’t have to do anything’.
Yep, thanks Claire.
So, suckered I was. Luckily, I caught up with Clare, Claire’s mate and mother of our God-daughter, Imogen. She didn’t really have to do anything, but helped me to not look so lost in a sea of mums…! She had her arms full with her two kids, and although I would have liked to have offered to help, but keeping Jack on my lap was job-enough!!
Anyway, my head is telling me that this session is 30 minutes or so long, assuming that of course Claire hasn’t spun me a good ‘un on the time-front too, and therefore it would literally be a shear matter of time before it was over. How long can 30 minutes be? Well, a lifetime it seemed at the time!
They all joined in with the singing of the rhymes, such as Old MacDonald, The Wheels On The Bus, and others I didn’t even know, and during the singing they were waving their babies arms and legs around and even flinging them up in the air in time too.
Did I sing? Erm, no. I don’t sing when I am made to go to Church for things such as Weddings, Funerals, Christenings, etc. Not because I am trying to be defiant, it’s just that I suppose I’m a bit self-conscious that I sound like a spoon at the best of times, let alone with my singing voice!
Either way, no singing, but I did attempt the obligatory miming when I felt someone of some importance in the group was looking over (namely the Rhyme Time leader) – bit like being in Church really!!
I tried to make Jack have as good a time as I think that he would if Claire had taken him, but me feeling a little ‘new’ to the group and somewhat ‘lost’ amongst the sea of mums probably didn’t help much! He fell asleep almost in time with the ending of the group, which gave me my ‘out’.
I’d like to say I enjoyed it, and that I’d like to go back again during my next day off from work, but I seem to ‘remember’ that I am no longer allowed any time off, ever, thus preventing me against my will, of course… :o)
But, it did make me appreciated a little more the effort that Claire has put into the entertainment of Jack, as well as ensuring that she doesn’t go cuckoo being at home all day, everyday!!
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