Master Frugal is quite a complex child.
He’s happy and extremely loving but he tends to over think things and has a habit of worrying about things that he really doesn’t need to worry about. This means that I often look over at him and he’ll be sat with a very serious expression on his face which makes me a little sad too.
I never make a big deal out of it as I know it’s just the way he is but he’s clearly aware of it himself as his school New Year’s Resolution was to ‘lighten up and chill out’. He stood up in front of assembly at school to tell everyone that’s what he was going to work on this year and a couple of his teachers mentioned it to me as they know he’s a worrier from his time in their classes.
So, back to today.
I looked up this morning to find him sat on the settee deep in thought so to distract him, I suggested we go cook breakfast together which is something I would usually do with Miss Frugal, if not on my own. We do bake together as I try to encourage that a lot but I’ve been focusing my attention more on Miss Frugal when it comes to cooking meals for the family as she’s always enjoyed it so much more.
We made Cinnamon toast together and he was absolutely in his element. Even though he’s always enjoyed baking with me, this felt different in a way that I can’t really describe.
He did everything himself except for the actual frying of the eggy bread and when it came to serving it up, he asked if he could do the presentation of the plate because a lot of the enjoyment of eating was about what the food looked like! Who told him that? Certainly not me as I only just manage to get food on a plate, never mind get it on there looking presentable!
He then proudly ate it and I thought he was going to burst when we all told him how nice it was – we weren’t even saying it to be nice as it was genuinely gorgeous!
Then tonight he practically took over Sunday Dinner – he peeled and chopped the carrots, helped steam the cauliflower and broccoli and made the dumplings himself to go in the mince. Again, the whole time he was in the kitchen he was just a different child – assertive, confident and very, very capable.
He’s currently excitedly planning what he’s going to cook next with a massive smile on his face.