When I was little, I used to love the bluebell season. I remember every year going on a walk to see if we could find them, and I even remember once my friend having a fairy party in the middle of a field of them. As a young girl, I remember seeing the beautiful blanket of blue on the ground and thinking it was magical. I always remember going out walking with my Mum and Dad, with our dog, searching for conkers or looking at wild mushrooms.
So this past weekend I told Mr E and Mads we were off on a hunt for bluebells in a nearby wood. Mr E looked a little bit unimpressed as there weren't many blankets of bluebells for him being a boy growing up in Manchester city, but he humoured me and off we all went.
They were every bit as magical as I remembered as a little girl. We went to the same wood about three weeks ago and there was no sign of them, but almost overnight they have grown, and actually are on their way out as they don't stick around for long.
Ok so our journey wasn't quite so magical, it was muddy, we all got covered from head to toe in dirt, we couldn't sit on the ground to take photos because it was so wet, and Mads needed a poo and two wee's and we didn't take a potty with us. (Cue me holding her legs while she did her business- that is a memory in itself!)
But they were worth the journey to go and see them.
I want my girls to have a childhood full of magic and make believe.
I want us to go hunting for fairies, looking for treasure, make dens in the garden, write letters to Father Christmas and look for the beauty in the ordinary world we live in.
Children seem in such a hurry to grow up nowadays and I feel really sad when I see young girls strutting around town in makeup and aspring to be people like the cast from TOWIE or Katie Price.
While I know my girl's will grow up and while I know I can't keep them innocent forever, while they are little and while they are still so pure and unaffected by the not so nice things in the world, I want to make sure that I give them a childhood full of imagination, fun and make believe.
There will be a time when searching for bluebells with their Mummy and Daddy couldn't be less fun, so I am going to enjoy every single cold, muddy, wet walk that we take. Even if we do end up covered in dirt and even if I have to hold Mad's while she does a number two!
Because that's what being a parent is all about. Getting up and out the house at 9am on a Sunday morning to have a little adventure. Even if we are a bit tired, or stressed, or can't really be bothered.
It's about making memories, having adventures and making sure they have a childhood they can look back on and smile about.
Because my little girls aren't going to be little forever.
