The differences between girls and boys.
Until I actually became a father, I sort of believed that boys and girls started off the same. What I mean is that I believed that girls were encouraged to play with toys aimed at their sex and boys, likewise, played with toys that were intended to turn them into, well, boys. You probably think I am daft, and you, dear reader, probably knew this all along, but I didn't, not really. The fact that I'd never really given it a thought until I had a child, is about the only excuse I can offer for my ignorance. I apologise for this.
Anyway, boys, it seems, do seem to like playing with toy cars and soldiers, and find running around shooting things good fun. Not that much different to the adults they eventually grown into, in actual fact. Little girls, on the other hand, seem to prefer pretty clothes, imitations of baby humans, jewelry and other feminine objects and pursuits. I would also mention that despite having been encouraged to play with boys' toys, my son's little cousin has resolutely stuck to activities and items which are more suited to girls. Like our son's cousin's mother, I too rather believed that the role of the sexes was more a result of conditioning, and thus not necessarily related to our biological and physiological make up.
I was wrong.
I think I'm a little slow on occasion. No, maybe it's just that I am a little slow. Full stop.
And finally…..
…after a bout of pretty chilly weather, the snow finally arrived, covering Milan with a snug blanket of deep snow. 'Wonderful' is the only word to describe it, unless, of course, you need to travel any great distance. Luckily for me, my 'out and about' work for the week had all but come to an end and my final two hour session was supposed to have been with a guy who lives well outside Milan. When he rang me back, he explained that he had been trying to extricate his car from snow in the area of the hostpital which he had just visited. Needless to say, our meeting was put off until another day.
Despite the widespread chaos; it began snowing early on Friday morning, and apart from stopping for a while last night, it has continued to snow all through the day; we managed to drop our little one off at his council run day nursery (And later observed that his much more expensive private ex-nursery was closed - very odd - the public sector outdid the private for a change). Then, after having seen a jam-packed tram, my other half decided that going to work would not be a great idea and so we decided to wander down to the
Sempione Park and on towards the centre of Milan. We took quite a number of photos, too. I've uploaded a few below:
On the left is a street near where we live.
Below you will see a couple of bikes which were most probably not used much today.
This is the playground which our little one often drags us to:
And finally, here is a photo of myself posing for the camera in Milan's castle's courtyard:
It was a glorious day and the park became magical. There was even the sound of a river provided courtesy of the cars driving along the roads around the park. The sound they made as they drove through the salty slush which covered the streets was exactly the same as that of a fast flowing river. It was almost surreal.
A fabulous Friday, it was. It's 11pm and the snow has finally stopped, but if it all turns to ice things will be fun tomorrow. Whatever the case, we shall be out and about enjoying the temporary transformation of the city as for as long as it lasts.
Shame it came after Christmas, though.
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Photos from Flickr
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