Catching up with old friends

I spent most of today with a friend that I met through a baby group I used to go to with Isabel years ago. After the group ended, a handful of us used to meet up every Friday afternoon, ostensibly to do some singing with the babies, but in reality to get the singing out of the way so that we could drink tea and eat choccie biscuits. We met regularly for more than three years, and it became a really important part of my week, and an opportunity to get together with mums and nannies who had kids almost exactly the same age as Isabel.

There was a two month age spread amongst the kids, who were all born between the middle of July and the beginning of September 2004, and it was fascinating to see how different they were in some ways, and how similar in others. For example, there was a very big range in ages of when they all walked for the first time - one walked at 8 1/2 months, and another not until almost 18 months i.e. a span of nearly a year. But the one who walked early didn't speak many words until he was at least two, whereas the late walker was waving and saying "bye bye" before he was a year. I guess the brain at that age can focus on getting a few tasks right at a time, and for one it was walking, while for the other it was talking! Isabel was in the middle - walked at 13 months, and talked reasonably early - I remember her answering "not keen on mushrooms" to the question "do you like mushrooms?" well before she was two. Chatting has never been difficult for her!

It was really sad when the group started to break up. Most of us have moved house - one to Suffolk, one to Athens, one to Barnes, one to Golders Green, one to Putney, and us to Bucks. I think only two of the group haven't moved house, come to that. And of course all the kids have started school, and that in combination with the whole house moving issue makes it really hard to meet up. I saw all of them at Hallowe'en, but missed the Christmas party because Isabel was sick. And I'm meant to be seeing all of them at the end of the Easter holidays, but I don't think that the timing will work with the arrival of the mother-in-law's flight from Spain. And the meeting date is also four days before Pumpkin's due date, so events in the meantime may prevent me from attending anyway - will have to wait til the summer holidays instead. And rely on Facebook! Or maybe a reunion in Athens is an idea worth considering....hmm, now there's a nice thought!