Being Miss M’s mother is generally a fabulous job. She’s funny and clever and we have a really lovely relationship. One of the nicest elements of being a parent is when your child surprises you by showing what a good human being they are.

Yesterday I was taking Miss M to before school care just after 8am. It’s a mutually good thing, because I get to start work half an hour early, and she really enjoys going one morning a week. Miss M’s school has a most fabulous lollypop lady named Gwen, who has been helping children cross the road safely for about twenty years. She’s a truly wonderful person, and cares deeply about the kids, their parents … and the Richmond football club, which in my opinion just makes her even greater!

As we crossed yesterday, Gwen dropped a whole lot of rubber bands on the ground - she’d been trying to bundle them together, and hadn’t had any luck. Miss M skipped ahead of me and picked them up, put them all together and gave them back to Gwen. I know it’s only a tiny thing, and in the scheme of the world probably doesn’t matter all that much, but there are many people who would’ve just kept walking without a second thought. I felt a surge of pride at her little act of kindness - and the smile she had as Gwen thanked her.

After my faith in humanity was shaken a little bit after my bike accident last week, it’s nice to think we might be raising a generation who care about doing the right thing and being good people.

Blazing Orange

Today I’m loving: the nasturtium we picked by the river, and the idea of eating icecream at the beach in just a little while