The Child is mother of the woman by Anne Booth

I have recently come across a book I used to write in when I was little. I was 6, and this isn't a school exercise book - I obviously just wanted to write at home. These two entries were a week apart, both on Sundays.

First Entry: Sunday 16th May 1971

I have breakfast in the morning

dinner at night

it is nice too have breakfast in the monning

dinner at night.

Second entry: Sunday 23rd May 1971

Monday is television day it is nice to have television in my school. it is a rainy day to day

The dinner is nice

The desert (dessert!) is nice in my school

The funny thing is that I wrote pretty much about the same things I tweet about now during lockdown.

I also obviously loved television then too. Bear in mind that this was written on a Sunday, looking forward to Monday.

So there we have it. Six year old Anne was keen to write about the food and television she enjoyed, and add in a comment about the weather. And what does fifty five year old @Bridgeanne tweet about in 2020? Well, apart from when she is tweeting in despair at what this government is getting up to, when she is feeling happier, the 55 year old Anne is still interested in the topics of what she has for breakfast and dinner, the weather, and her lockdown retreats invariably reveal that every day she looks forward to watching something good on television in the evening! 

So maybe Wordsworth was right, and the child is father to the (wo) man. I find I don't mind this at all. I am cheered by the fact that little me and not so little me were made happy by the same things.

I know for certain six year old Anne longed for a dog, but knew it was impossible where we lived. I would like to tell her that she did get to have two lovely dogs, and although 55 year old Anne is very sad because she hasn't got them any more, she may one day get another one, and, like 6 year old Anne, would also rather like a donkey or two.

Today, I would like to tell 6 year old Anne, I had rice crispies for breakfast, which made a very nice noise. I think that's the sort of thing she would enjoy too.