Yesterday, Bubba and I were at a friend’s place. There were lots of kids there. Some of the bigger kids were kicking balls around (soccer and rugby balls). Bubba was in heaven! She pointed and said over and over baw, baw, baw.

Mid-play, one of the boys kicked the ball close to her, so she toddled into their game, picked up the ball – which was half the size of her, and wandered off with it – ever so pleased with herself! The older kids were very patient with her and let her play with it for a while, told her how cute she was then continued playing once she let the ball go momentarily.

Bubba loves things that bounce, and it’s not restricted to balls. We can quite often be found bouncing on my bed. I can’t wait until she’s a little older and we’re going on adventures (like taking her to Disneyland)! The first thing we’ll do when we check into our hotel room will be bounce on the beds. Because that’s what you do when you’re on holidays. And that’s the kind of mumma I am. Who am I kidding, that’s the kind of girl I’ve always been!

Our friends have a trampoline and while the kids were all otherwise occupied eating their lunch, I climbed onto the trampoline with Bubba. At first we sat and just moved around a little so she got the idea. Then we bounced on our knees. Then we stood and held hands. Then I held her in my arms and jumped around for a few minutes. We repeated this and spent about fifteen minutes on the trampoline. The look of rapture on her face, and hearing and feeling her giggles was priceless. For me, it reminded me of being young. I used to do gymnastics and I loved it. I might have to look for a gym to take Bubba to so we can bounce around on a more regular basis!

After I climbed off the trampoline and went to join the others for lunch, one of the mums said to me “That looked like a lot of hard work for you”.

The comment took me by surprise. I wonder what she meant by it. Was it hard work because I had to do some physical exercise? If so, that was hardly exercise.

Was it hard work because I’d had to take time out from eating and having a glass of wine to play with my Bubba? If so, I’ll take the hard work of playing, having fun and spending time with my Love Bug any day over an extra fifteen minutes of eating and drinking.

No matter which way she meant that comment, I feel sad for a mumma who thinks that spending time with my child is hard work. I bet if she took the time to get on the trampoline and hold hands with one of her children and bounce in the beautiful autumn sunshine, she’d realise that not only is it not hard work, but it’s impossible not to feel happy in that moment. Happy to be alive, happy to be a mumma, and happy to relive the joy of childhood and the fun of bouncing!

I am lucky to be a Mumma. It is a precious gift and it’s one I’ll never take for granted, even though some days are tough and lately there seem to have been a few of them. Today, I’m so grateful that we had the chance to steal some time away from everyone else, time just to bounce and be happy!