How We've Grown - from the Lost Blog

We’re over the crest of the summer now – it seems we’ve the exchanged hot, languid days for the pale mist and pitter-patter of rain on the roof. In fact, as I write this, I can hear the cry of the gulls outside as they complain about the weather and the cool tell-tale scent of a damp, salty summer’s day drifts into the bedroom through the window. After the flurry of excitement that has been the few weeks, it’s a relief to slide into the comfortable duvet of a pale day where I can curl up on the sofa and read or indeed, type this from the comfort of my bed with Lyra snuggled up snoring next to me with no guilt of wasting a sunny day.

9 months have passed us so quickly. One moment we had this teeny tiny little squidge that just rested in your arms like a fidgety sausage and now we have a powerfully honky goose who crawls, stands and demands – and rides on my skateboard. Although she’s still very much a baby, Lyra feels awfully grown up now and it’s a bizarre mix of feelings.

On one hand, I look forward to clawing back a little of my independence – time to myself to paint, write, read and sit for hours on the beach. On the other hand, having a baby around is the best. I’ve gone from one of those disinterested types who couldn’t be less broody if you paraded fifty round-cheeked cherubs before me to a strong baby enthusiast. They are the purest and sweetest of creatures incapable of untruth or manipulation so that each and every gummy smile they give you, you know is completely genuine. I know they’re not everybody’s cup of tea however so if you’re not reading this post for cute baby updates, then swiftly close this tab and wait for the next ‘Cornwall’ or ‘Photography’ themed post to come along.

I wanted to make a little Lyra update post for my family and friends who I don’t see so often and for those who like to keep up with this little family. These photographs were taken back in mid-May when the Cow Parsley was thick and bushy and the last of the Wisteria lingered, decorating the golden Cotswold stone. We visited Bath and for once it was a pleasure visit; our only agenda to catch up with old friends and show Lyra some of my favourite University days haunts.

Of course babies change so much that she barely looks like she does now in these images… I’ll endeavour to post more. Blogging has been the last thing on my mind when I’ve been focusing on jumping back in to life – in Sarah terms, that means spending as much time on the beach as possible with a small babe, travelling around the country visiting the people I love and of course, peak wedding photography season.

Finding a balance between being a freelancer, wife and mother as well as making sure I don’t utterly neglect my friends, family and still make memories is like spinning fifteen plates whilst doing the can-can. As a dyspraxic, it’s not an easy task and society expects so much of women. Of everyone really. I feel like I inhabit this nether space of simultaneously living slowly and at a hundred miles per hour. I’m not one to jump out of bed and race into the day, I’m more a sit and stare out the window for an hour with a cup of tea type. I’ll day dream. and then I’ll race around like a madwoman, bash through my to-do list for the day and exhibit my flaws as a workaholic before maybe having an hours break to stare into space for thirty minutes by the window again. I’ll make fifty plans to see the people I love, complain bitterly about how busy I am but fail to exist any other way because my life is a dawdling chaos. I probably wouldn’t have it any other way.

So me? Not much growing really. Just learning to spin some extra plates. But our sweet babe, she’s losing her doughy baby looks in favour of a real little girl face, a halo of golden curls and the cheekiest of squawks and giggles. She’s so strong now and loves climbing as well as charming people in public. We were at Port Eliot festival the other day and we lost count of how many friends she made but it is amusing to watch her work her magic, or do her best ‘I’m a sweet babe, notice me’ faces at people who are clearly as disinterested as can be. She’ll move on to a charming head tilt, give them a sweet giggle or friendly squawk and if still, they ignore her, her little bottom lip drops and she looks so sad. She’s definitely an extrovert, not shy and gentle like Jon but a whirlwind of chaos and curiosity. It’s so wonderful to see her grow into herself.

We took her to Jubilee Lido for the first time the other day, we’ve only just got her used to the beach so the pool was another adjustment but we wisely hired deckchairs and set up a play area for her on the upper-terrace and got a good 5 hours of relaxing poolside goodness with some chilly dips in between. Still not a fan of big-cold-bath, I think we need to re-approach the situation with a floaty toy. I really hope she loves the water when she’s older – Jon and I love spending long days on the beach/in the pool (if you’re astronomy minded you might argue that it’s because we’re both water types, a Cancerian and Scorpio – you’ll be very surprised at who is actually who.) We were told that Lyra, who is also a Scorpio would have powerful water energy. Jon generally turns his nose up at these sorts of things and I’m on the fence, but we did get a giggle when we were at the Pool and Lyra unleashed her powerful water energy in the form of a giant, pressure-washer-force piddle all over our towels whilst standing up when we were trying to put her in her swim nappy and tog. If she were a Pokemon, I think she’d be a Squirtle.

We took her on her first trip to London to visit our friends Abz & Dave and they kindly baby sat while we enjoyed our second ever Jon & Sarah only date since Lyra was born and went to see Florence and the Machine play at Hyde Park with the National. They were incredible. It was a much needed rejuvenation and I’ll admit booking the tickets felt like a desperate bid to feel young again but it worked. It took about 10 years off me as I was beginning to feel like a fussy old woman with achy bones and a sack of grumbles but taking July to catch up on work, spend some quality time goofing around with Jon and making memories has really helped me regain more of myself yet again. It’s easier to be a better mother to Lyra when my cup is full.

Trips back to Bath are always enchanting. Although I can’t say that a part of me will always belong there (because it doesn’t, I fully belong to the quiet pace of rural seaside life) I do love the ghostly, otherworld sensation of walking along paths once trodden in another chapter. It feels almost like haunting a place, or going down a path you might have done in a past life. I love the familiarity of the winding streets, the chance of perhaps bumping into somebody I used to know and the fairytale whimsy of the city and Prior park with its Palladian Bridge will always be one of my special spots. Jon had never been here so it was wonderful to bring him and Lyra, show him the hundreds of years old graffiti on the bridge, play in the cow parsley and sit and take in the view of the city together on the hill. I know that Bath will be a place we will always come back to and always enjoy. There are good and sacred memories here.

Prior Park is a National Trust landscape garden that overlooks the city skyline. If you’re in the area and looking to get the ‘georgian experience’ it’s definitely a must visit. It’s the home of the iconic Palladian Bridge and the perfect picnic spot and is overlooked by the private school ‘Prior Park college.’ To get here, you have to catch the bus from outside the main bus station on Dorchester street- there is no parking as it’s atop an enormous hill and it’s not the easiest walk. You can exit however at the bottom entrance and there is a beautiful walk through the teeny back lanes of quintessential Bath which is great for a bit of manor-house spotting. On our walk, we happened to pass a very wizardly looking dog who was gate guardian of ‘Gothic Cottage.’ I think you had to tell him a riddle to pass through the gate into the magical lands within.

We stopped off as we always do at one of our favourite coffee spots (this time Colonna and Smalls.) Bath has an excellent coffee scene so we always try to make the most of it when we visit, although Cornwall is beginning to grow and grow with some great new coffee spots opening up.

Well, she’s just woken up and is giving me the most beautiful gummy smile (no teeth yet despite all the teething) and she’s waving her foot in my face so I’m taking that as a cue to start my day. It was a short catch up I know, but it’s been lovely