Friday arrived and I was feeling much better but our little petal was still under the weather and had been battling a fever, too. I didn't have the heart to tell Lachlan that we most likely wouldn't make it to the fair. When I told him he was disappointed. I gave him a glimmer of hope and said if his sister was fever free for 24 hours, happy and smiley AND the sun was shining warmth on our skin, we could go.
Saturday arrived the next morning. Noelle was fever free and her happy, giggling self again. However, the weather was looking a little suspicious. I couldn't see the sun anywhere. Just a hazy grey sky. That morning, Lachlan, Noelle and I sat on his bed and pretended it was a boat. We were going on a special journey and singing, "Sailing on our boat, what do we see?" (look for something in the room) "I see a choo cho train floating past me!" Eventually we began to sing, "Looking through the window..." and lucky for us, "we could see the sun, looking at me!" With this, Lachlan was ready to go. He had a fever free, happy, smiling bub and now the sun. Mission accomplished, let's go!
While we were driving to the Steiner school the sun seemed to go into hiding again. The temperature wasn't too bad though so I bundled us all up and we walked happily along the sidewalk to the fair. Well, I walked and Lachlan ran at his fastest toddler sprint! After being stuck in the house with us for a week, I could swear his little feet were pitter-pattering "Free at last! Free at last! Thank God, Almighty, I'm free at last!!!"
So we arrived at the fair and our first stop was to see the bunnies and guniea pigs. Our playgroup leader had her daughter's bunny there, so we were happy to give him a pat. Next, it was down to the preschool and kindergarden classes for some crafty activities. Lachlan surveyed all that was on offer before deciding what he wanted to do. He said no to the tee-shirt painting as he was drawn to something else: the sound of tapping hammers. Outside boys and girls were building boats out of scraps of wood with their dads (don't ask me where the moms, were. guess I'm the only one whose hubby works on a Saturday!) Lachlan was mesmerized by the sound of the hammers and nails. He was in heaven and eager to have his tiny hands clinch a hammer.After giving the teenage boy in charge, 3 paper tokens from the necklace around Lachie's neck, we began to work. Lachlan picked out scraps of wood, watched others to get inspired and guided me as to where to place the wood to secure it down. I tapped the nails in just enough so they were secure and he began to pound them down further. A couple of final taps from me and they were nice and tight. The nice teenage gentleman even came to lend a helping hand while I gave Noelle a feed. He refered to Lachlan as the "Designer," and was very patient as Lachlan told him what should go where, which was a looooong process as Lachlan tended to put much thought into each piece. Lastly, he picked out a rainbow sail attached to a bamboo switch and placed it into a hole drilled by his new friend. And voila! We had a beautiful sail boat- complete with two back seats and a steering wheel nailed to the floor!
Lachlan also used his tokens at the beading station, where he made a beaded star necklace and then at the Fairy Garden, where he created a beautiful Gnome Garden, as he has a gnome at home that needed a garden, out of moss and other natural materials. He worked so intently on this garden. I was so proud of him and loved watching him work. He picked up moss and stuck it in the soil and then very carefully gathered and placed little seashells, pine cones and pebbles in the garden. The only bit I helped him on was the mushroom which needed to be molded from coloured beeswax. It is very firm stuff and it takes a lot of work to get it to be pliable. I shaped it for him and he stuck on some yellow wax spots to the top. He also placed a little 'wish bubble' in the garden where you can make a wish for something that you really, really want. Once again, I found myself enjoying magical moments with Lachlan. It is something that I love so much about Steiner, the philosophy embraces the magic of childhood which is often found when child and nature meet. There is just something so wholesome and pure about watching your child work with natural materials; exploring and manipulating them to create their own little masterpiece and lucky me gets to breathe in every moment of it. These are the times when I love to just sit back and wach Lachlan's imagination unfold, surprised and inspired by where it takes him and what he creates. Afterwards, I just want to hold him in my arms, hug him and whisper in his ear, "enjoy these moments, baby. these sweet, simple moments." I am so fortunate to still remember moments such as these of my childhood which fill my heart with warmth.
After all the fun was over, I grabbed Lachlan's little hand in my left and pushed Noelle in her pram with my right and we walked back to the car. Well, I walked and this time Lachlan did a sort of toddler skip. All I remember is his smiling face, the sound of his joyous giggles and the beaded star necklace bouncing on his chest. He was so happy and I was so happy that after a week of sickness, cramped up inside, that I could give him this day.
The next morning when Lachlan woke up, he went right over to his Gnome Garden, which we placed on our sofa table. He climbed on the sofa to be at eye level with the garden and said, "I want a wish." I asked him what he would like to wish. He looked at his bubble and then to me and said, "A cuddle, mommy." I wrapped him in my arms, closed my eyes as I rested my chin on his head and I knew that I would always remember this sweet, simple moment.
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