My Three Blessings ... by Sheila Claydon

My three blessings:)

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It's been a very busy summer! Not that I'm complaining.

My youngest granddaughter (12) has been visiting from Singapore. She has grown seven inches since her last visit and is now almost as tall as her adult cousins (24 and 19). To see the three of them together is a joy. Despite the geographical and age differences they are close and it is a delight to watch as the older ones spend time with and spoil their now not so little cousin. 

We are lucky that, as well as regular visits, we can all use the Internet to stay in touch and the family chat messages between the three of them are frequently hilarious. 

There are many differences too. The youngest, who has always lived abroad in hot countries, cannot understand why our homes don't have air conditioning. Her six week visit was during the UK's longest hot dry summer since 1976. No rain and excessively high temperatures, so we could well understand her reasoning even as we explained that unlike this year, we hardly ever need it. 

She loved the wide open spaces of our small coastal town too. The fact that she could walk through woodland without seeing a soul or walk along an almost empty beach with our dog running freely beside her was something she will never experience in Singapore. She was also fascinated by the fact that nearly everyone she met either greeted her with a smile or said hello, something that happens in small communities but not in the cities and countries she is used to. 

                                      

She loved the space in the house too. The fact that she could distance herself from everyone when she wanted to by just climbing stairs to her bedroom, something that is impossible in a small apartment where her bedroom is right next to the living room and all the noises and conversations of everyday life.

And more than anything she loved looking after our little dog. Preparing her meals, brushing her, even cleaning her teeth and, of course, taking her for a walk on her own. When she called from Singapore once she arrived home, the first thing she wanted to see was the dog.

She does, however, enjoy a very privileged life in Singapore and has quickly settled back into her everyday routines with friends, school and sports. She just enjoys the differences she experiences when she visits her UK family.

It all got me thinking, well reminiscing really, back to when I wrote my When Paths Meet trilogy. Three sisters, not cousins, but with the same big age gaps and very different lifestyles and experiences. Each of them with a problem to solve, and each of them recognising the importance of family.