Mummy & M date number 1: an afternoon at Thinktank

 

I feel like time is slowly counting down to that date in September when I have to deliver my little boy to the gates to begin his school days.  It excites and scares me in equal measures, to know that he is on the cusp of such an exciting and hopefully happy part of his life.  He has so much ahead of him to stimulate his clever little mind, and will be influenced by so many other people than his immediate family.

I suffer from the well documented 'mummy guilt', brought on by the fact that I cannot spend as much time giving him my full attention now that I have two children to look after. I spend my days feeling completely torn between the two of them, and it's nearly always M, whose needs are less immediate, who has to wait. It's been getting to me a little bit, hearing 'just wait a minute', and 'in a bit' come out of my mouth as often as they have been lately, particularly since F is now mobile, and needs constant supervision.

With the long summer holidays upon us, I've decided to carve out some time each week just for M and me, when we can go somewhere fun, and do something just the two of us, like we used to before F was born.  So, I've planned six Mummy and M dates to look forward to.

This week's adventure was a pretty exciting one: we spent the afternoon at Thinktank in Birmingham.  I think the train journey would've been excitement enough for M, who was so enthusiastic about everything he saw along the way ('What's that, Mummy?' 'It's a cooling tower.' 'Oh! I love cooling towers, they're my favourite!'), and who made the other passengers smile with his sheer joyfulness and his lack of reserve in telling the lady opposite us all about where we were going and that he was starting school in September. 

There were a few grumbles on the rather lengthy walk from New Street Station to Thinktank (it was raining, and M was quite hungry), but when we arrived, he was captivated.  There were machines to watch, huge robot arms to control, water wheels, pumps and waterways to play with, a steam engine to marvel at, and so much more.  M is particularly interested in the human body, so was absolutely over the moon to find a model of the digestive system, complete with food moving through the intestines, and a button at the end he could press to make a poo sound.  That was right up his street!

Outside, in the garden there were more contraptions to have a play with, water to splash about and levers and handles to pull and turn.  He was in his element, and I felt like I could really concentrate on being the mummy I want to be to him.  We were both shattered when we got home, but I think we'd both reconnected somehow.

I can't wait for next week's adventure!