Arriving at my local supermarket recently I was surrounded by signs of summer. There were barbeque kits stacked high in the foyer next to an eye-watering collection of garden toys, ranging from huge bubble wands and multi-coloured windmills, to the centrepiece, the mother-toy, a bouncy castle/water slide/tunnel combo complete with pump. Blimey what I would give to be a child today! All we had was a tennis ball in a sock. Anyway, this huge summer spectacle sparked panic within as my mind “helpfully” flashed up images of one corner of our cobweb infested shed and its sorry contents. A pre-historic swingball set bundled on top of a slightly deflated space hopper. Several beads of sweat were quickly followed by a massive urge to call a man with a van to shove the whole lot, mother-toy and all, in the back. But luckily, for my purse, and the shed, my senses got the better of me and I carried on with my shopping, occasionally finding my thoughts veering dangerously towards mega-bubbles and giant slides.
It’s hard not to feel certain pressures as a parent. Pre-motherhood I had all these ideas about how ‘organic’ my child’s upbringing would be (I know. Who WAS that person?). No television for the first three years, home-made nutritious meals every day, no toys made in China etc etc but of course as soon as they got wind of Igglepiggle and turned their nose up at everything that didn’t come out of a jar, my resolve went out of the window along with the line-caught fish pie (the fish that is, not the pie).
I suppose what I’m getting at is that whether we realise it or not, we are constantly being bamboozled into ‘keeping up’. It’s all or nothing. You can’t get the paddling pool without the giant water pistols and the pop up tent will be rubbish without the huge adjoining tunnel (why does all this stuff have to be so damn big??) After much, probably too much, deliberation I decided on the bubbles and to hell with the rest. Even as I was standing at the checkout I was considering swapping them for the bowling set, or even getting them both (last of the big spenders!). I was desperately urging someone to join the queue behind me to take the pressure off. Only then could I declare to myself that it was too late, it was over, the lines had now closed and the clock had stopped. Pathetic I know. I have several more of these self-imposed cut-off criteria depending on the circumstances. They all somehow relate to not standing on cracks in the pavement and red cars going past before I get to the next lamp post. Anyway, when I got home and presented the goods to the little ones they were ecstatic and any doubts I might have had instantly vanished. Just two small things had made a huge difference to their lives. I know it sounds dramatic but I’m filling up just thinking about it. Pass me a hankey.
I’ve often wondered whether people feel such bamboozlement about Little Lucy Willow. Without patting my own back too hard, we do make sure our showroom and website are beautifully presented and impeccably designed to make you want to buy our childrens furniture (I know I know, you can stop clapping now). We wouldn’t be doing our job if we didn’t make such an effort. But is what we present realistic? Is every child’s bedroom so white, bright, tidy and clean with co-ordinated bunting hanging from a flawlessly painted (and hand-print free) wall? Probably not if I’m honest. Ok, ok, definitely not! Then again, I think I did come close to this impossible dream during my precious last few days of pregnancy once. I recall taking much pleasure in folding blankets and re-positioning teddy bears and tiny socks then staring dreamily at my creation. It was such a vision of loveliness – then a baby came along and spoiled it all! Fellow neat freaks will sympathise. These days such perfect bedrooms in my house could only be achieved by making the children sleep in the shed or somewhere. Now there’s an idea…
Anyway, as I was saying, some might find our images a little overwhelming and turn away for a good old sob in the crook of their elbow. These people – you know who you are – believe they must buy everything in the photograph or nothing at all. But the reality is that our furniture doesn’t need fancy surroundings to look great – we just do that for extra impact, you know, crank up the pressure a few notches to make you all feel a little more inadequate (kidding of course!). The fact is, in the real world it takes but ONE piece of furniture and a little imagination to transform a room and kickstart a domestic revolution. Obviously for those who would rather take a whole collection, well that’s ok too!
Perhaps we should inject a little reality into a photoshoot sometime by letting the little ones loose. Two excitable children, a couple of yoghurts and a biro? The results could be interesting but then again, you probably wouldn’t even notice seeing as our furniture is so staggeringly beautiful – just in case you hadn’t already gathered…