A long walk home

As usual I was late collecting Child 3 from school, Dylan the dog was having too much fun running around the field with a tennis ball in his mouth. What is with our dog? He loves tennis balls, he loves chasing tennis balls he just doesn't bring them back.

Anyway, back to my little story, child 3 was waiting for me at the door of her classroom all ready to head home. We collected the dog and started the fairly short walk home, but as we crossed the road, child 3 spots a tiny ladybird, who she so very gently gathered up into her hand and informed me that she wanted to keep her as a pet and that her name was Spot. Oh and she's not a girl she's a boy so there are no babies to fly away home too.

Carrying a ladybird home is a slow and steady process, I had to keep stopping allowing her to catch up, she looked like an angel the sun behind her, lighting her hair up like a halo. She walked deliberately, so carefully one foot gently after the other. Talking very very quietly to her ladybird promising to take good care of him. Remembering that her lunch bag was full of empty boxes she stopped, rooted one out and with the greatest of care allowed the ladybird to crawl off her hand into the box and then adding handfuls of grass and leaves she put the lid on and caught up with me, walking a little bit faster at last.

When we finally reached home she added cucumber and water to the box. After an ice lolly, child 3 decided that really her ladybird should be free so she put the lidless box outside amongst the geraniums and fuchsias that fill a stone pot by the front door.

When I returned home from my governors meeting the ladybird was still there, maybe he wants to stay as child 3's pet.