@anniesue Thank you. Yes I am fine thanks. Just became really busy and have only snapped a couple of cell pics lately. Packed my car and drove to Johannesburg. Was needed to look after Maddy and take her to school, swimming lessons, OT etc. while her mother went away on a business trip last week, and again this week. In this country everything except retail shopping shuts down from 16th December every year (except this year our president announced yet another public holiday on 15th Dec so everything shuts down a day earlier than usual), so my daughter had to squeeze in business before 15th. School is now closed, and we had our last swimming lesson today so things should become a little less busy. When I was a mother myself I coped easily with all this kind of stuff, but somehow now that I am a grandmother I get tired more quickly looking after a 3 year old.
@seacreature glad you're fine! And, although it tires you, how great to be busy with Maddy and helping your daughter. Are you staying for the full holiday?
@anniesue Thanks so much for following up! Yes I am staying until early January. I don't find this environment photographically inspiring, and Maddy actively resists my camera at the moment (although she will pose in front of her mother's cellphone, but not mine). But I must start trying to discipline myself to get my camera out of its bag again and find something to shoot even when I don't feel like there is anything! My daughter comes home late this evening so from tomorrow Maddy will also be more settled. Although she is happy overall, and usually a good child, I can see she takes a bit of strain when her parents are away - doesn't want to eat properly etc.
But I do feel privileged to be able to be here to look after her when it is needed, and we do have a very special bond that I am keen to nurture whenever I can.
@seacreature can't really help with inspiration - I just snap away! If you got a list of prompts from the internet, you could involve Maddy in trying to find something in the house/ on your travels which fitted the bill. In an ideal world, you could distract her from missing her parents by engaging her with photgraphy!
@anniesue Thanks for the suggestion of getting Maddy to find something for me to take photos of. That is a jolly good idea I hadn't thought of. I will try that out.
But I do feel privileged to be able to be here to look after her when it is needed, and we do have a very special bond that I am keen to nurture whenever I can.