Читать книгу Dadventures: Amazing Outdoor Adventures for Daring Dads and Fearless Kids - Alex Gregory, Alex Gregory - Страница 13

This simple activity can be done anywhere and can turn a boring trip home from school into a fun little memorable experience. The beauty of this is that it can be done whatever the weather – in fact it often works best when the weather’s at its worst!

What you need

 A flask of your preferred hot drink and some non-breakable cups

 A large plastic sheet/tarpaulin

What to do

1 Take a flask containing your hot drink with you on the school pick-up, along with a large plastic sheet or tarpaulin. It’s even better if it’s raining because there will be fewer people out, making it even more exciting.

2 If going by car, find a spot to stop and park up. The verge at the edge of a field or next to a park or playing field is ideal.

3 Hunker down against the hedge or under a tree, sitting on the plastic sheet and pulling it up over your backs to keep out the weather and create a small, dry shelter.

4 You’ll soon warm up in there, especially while sharing a warm drink. It’s your time to be together, talking and watching what goes on outside when everyone else heads for home. It’s also a chance to watch the wildlife that stays out feeding in the rain and watch the passers-by, too, although they probably won’t even notice you there. It’s an opportunity to enjoy time together in, let’s face it, a very unusual place!

This activity is so basic, so simple and doesn’t cost a thing – and yet I expect 99 per cent of people reading this have never done it.

I first did something similar with Daisy in the summer when she had just started nursery. We stopped on the way home from pick-up and bought an ice cream each. Having a whole ice cream herself at that time in her life was a real treat, so she was already excited and happy. It happened to be a beautifully warm summer’s afternoon, and as I parked the car on the edge of a field close to home, overlooking the crops swaying in the breeze, we both knew this would be a good moment. Daisy and I sat on the bonnet of my car looking over the landscape and enjoying our ice creams, and we certainly weren’t expecting what was to happen next.

We started to see ladybirds flying all around us. As we noticed them landing on us, more and more appeared until the air was thick with these little red and black bugs. They covered my car, flew on to our clothes, into our hair and all over us. We were amazed, gobsmacked by this little event happening around us. It really was a sudden natural phenomenon. I assume we had parked in the path of a swarm moving across the fields. They were possibly descending on the crops to feed on greenfly and we just happened to be right in their path.

The point I want to make is that Daisy still talks about that 40 minutes we spent in the field with our ice creams and the ladybirds. If we hadn’t made the effort to stop, we wouldn’t have experienced that natural event. It’s only a small thing and it didn’t take long, but it’s a lasting memory for Daisy and me. We treasure that event, one that won’t ever happen in exactly the same way again. But next time, maybe something different will!

The funny thing is, when we really need to do this sort of thing we just don’t. As an adult, doing something out of the norm when you’re at your most stressed is usually the very last thing you’ll want to do, even though it’s usually the time you need to do it the most. That first step out the door is the hardest thing, but once you’ve taken it you realise its value. I hope my children still want to do this with me when they are teenagers. I have a sneaking suspicion that they will.