Schoolbag in hand, she leaves home in the early morning
Waving goodbye with an absent-minded smile
I watch her go with a surge of that well-known sadness
And I have to sit down for a while
The feeling that I’m losing her forever
And without really entering her world
I’m glad whenever I can share her laughter
That funny little girl
Slipping through my fingers all the time
I try to capture every minute
The feeling in it
Slipping through my fingers all the time
ABBA
Though my children are educated at home
I still know that though days are long
Years are short
I know that every moment is precious
And that even the ordinary moments
Are the extraordinary memories I will look back on
Time seems to fly
And the children just keep on growing
With four children at home all the time
One to one is rare
But I am promising myself
That this year
I will carve out special time with each child
It has already started over the summer months
Every Sunday morning I take one child
Out for second breakfast
And a bookshop browse
This year I am going to extend that
To days out with each child
Doing something that I know they will love to do
With William we will start with a museum
With Esther an art gallery
With Bea a theatre or dance show
With Edie a ramble round the farm or a flower garden
I want to fill their memory banks
With days that are ours
Days when we can slow down
Walk together
Talk together
Find treasures in the world around us
Days when we can share the magic
Of the little things
Days we can laugh together
Play together
Be together
Love out loud
As the seasons change
I think we all reflect
We notice how people change
As the seasons pass
We see how our children have grown
How different they are this autumn
Compared to last
And while our one to one plans
Include some day trips
Excursions
Many days will be slow days
With no grand adventure
Just time to share
Time to pack the flood of life away
And spend the day on nothing much
“For soon we’ll see that time has flown
We’ll close our eyes and you’ll be grown.”
“Can we?
Shall we steal a day?”
Before school begins
One father and daughter
Take a day and make it theirs
One last peaceful day
This is a truly beautiful story
Perfect to read with your little one
As summer gives way to autumn
A lyrical story tenderly told
Of celebrating the little things
Of making the ordinary things
Extraordinary
A story of love between parent and child
A story of slowing down
Of taking time together
To feel the awe and wonder
Of one another
And the magic of nature
A gorgeous gift for little ones
Heading off to school
Starting something new
An invitation to us all
To once in while
Steal a day and make it ours
A Day Thats Ours
Written by Blake Nuto
With illustrations by Vyara Boyadjieva
Published by Flying Eye Books