I was a very, very late surprise baby, and although my parents were good in their way, they were long past the small child stage. Consequently I was quite lonely and bored, knocking around in a house that was more like that of my friend's grandparents than one where you'd expect a small child to live. Trips and family/child friendly events didn't happen either, everyone else was an adult.
I used to feel jealous of my friend's cosy family homes. I remember thinking that in "proper families" they had the following
Bunk beds
At least three rusted old bikes lying around the garden
A biscuit barrel
Those brightly coloured posters with the alphabet or numbers stuck up in the kitchen
Plastic children's plates and bowls
A clothes maiden
Smell of baking
Some of these are obvious, some are a bit odd and I have no idea why they fall under the Proper Family list!
Does anyone know what I mean? I was thinking about it today because I was looking for one of the alphabet posters for my own kitchen