Perspective

Isn't it funny the difference a little perspective makes? I can't remember whether it was Mr Puddleduck or I who took this photo - oh no hang on, it was Mr Puddleduck, my iphone was the first victim of the evening - but at the time it symbolised the frustration of trying to dine out with a single-minded toddler who refuses to sit still unless it suits her purposes. We were trying to have dinner with old friends who were visiting from North Queensland and Puddleduck wasn't having a bar of it.

Despite having her own big girl seat and a ready-made audience she was determined to explore. I can't count the number of times the three of us climbed those stairs as Mr Puddleduck and I operated in shifts - one of us following the toddler and trying in vain to convince her to sit at the table for more than 30 seconds at a time, and the other catching up with our friends and trying not to make them regret their decision to start a family of their own.

What could have been a lovely, relaxing evening was tiring and frustrating. Neither of us felt we got to enjoy our time with friends and our thighs turned to jelly after the zillionth trip up the stairs. Throw in wait staff who seemed hell-bent on promoting a new millenium temperance society and we vowed never to try and socialise again with Puddleduck until she was at least 35.

However, after a few weeks we chalked it up to experience. Puddleduck turned out to be coming down with a nasty infection so that partly explained her contrariness (although not her boundless energy) and we realised we were expecting a little bit much of a two year old. So when I was flicking through photos tonight I saw this shot through new eyes - not the tired, grumpy eyes of a Mummy who had spent too much time following a toddler around Circular Quay, but through the eyes of someone who saw her strong, sturdy little miss taking on these step old stairs with the confidence of someone 10 times her age.

I remember her first encounters with steps as she scrambled up our steps on her hands and knees while we hovered nervously. Fearless as always, she soon mastered them and was looking for another challenge. Amazing the difference a change in perspective makes.