It is Good Friday and the heavens open up. The rain was relentless. This is normal for a bank holiday weekend for us. We only get surprised if the sun makes an appearance. The grass verge in front of the house is normally a bit water logged anyway, but today it is a massive puddle. We are travelling to Manchester tonight. I finish my household chores and sit down for a while in the conservatory.
As the rain collects and pours down my new wider drains, it makes a gurgling noise, like a flowing stream. It is quite soothing. I lie on my settee watching the rain drop onto the clear roof. Tucked under my warm blanket, I enjoy my ‘hygge’ moment. I need to drive down to Epping this evening and so have to cut short my lie in. If I stay longer, I will fall asleep and will be late getting there.
Murali is unwell and decides to stay back. I reach Epping by six. There really was no need to rush. It was a good three hours before we left. Lakshmi fell down the stairs, her second fall in a week. She can climb up and down the stairs easily but she does it carrying things these days and sometimes loses her balance. There is no injury and she stops crying after a couple of minutes.
The dull wet day gives way to a hazy dark grey starless night. It is meant to be a full moon night, but I cannot see any signs of the moon either. In the car, Lakshmi gets a bit restless before she falls asleep. She starts singing ‘the wheels on the bus go round and round, round and round, all day long’ a few times and tries to wake me up saying ‘wakey, wakey’. I wonder if children get the same problem as we do when we play songs on a loop in our head and find it difficult to shake them. Soon she is fast asleep. The car wipers are working overtime. I try to get some rest. We have a long drive ahead.
