So much of Ingrid’s life happens away from me, outside of my view, that I know her less and less well. I no longer feel like I really know what she does, what she thinks about, what is important to her. She’s growing up and growing away from me.

Ingrid likes to be busy. She loves all her after-school activities. She’s got scouting on Tuesdays, riding on Thursdays, and now during winter also bandy on Fridays. She also wanted to add dancing to this, but enough is enough. Even now with three busy evenings it feels like too much, but Ingrid loves skating so much that I gave in.

On her free afternoons she often wants to play with a friend. And when she’s at home, she has her eyes in a book all the time. There’s rarely a chance to just be with her, just talk. Mostly when she’s too tired to do anything else…

Other people talk during dinner, but any kind of attempt at mealtime conversation in this family derails pretty fast – too much noise and interruptions to allow meaningful conversation. I guess I need to find some way to sneak some “talk time” into our life. I wonder what kind of activity I might use as a cover – something that is enough of an activity so Ingrid feels occupied, but not so much that she will be all busy. Walks to the supermarket, perhaps?

She is often too busy to even notice the signals from her body. When I interrupt some activity, or pick her up at a friend’s place, she’s almost invariably annoyed – why do I have to stop the fun? And then three minutes later she tells me she is really, really, really tired, or hungry, or has a headache, or whatever.

Favourite fruit: clementines. When it’s late evening and she realizes she is hungry, she can eat seven or eight of them in one go.

Favourite activities together with me: the Christmas calendars on TV and radio. Both are really well done this year so I also enjoy watching them with us. Also, crafts, especially Christmasy ones. Also, in fact, anything that means that it’s just her and me, without Adrian.

Favourite activity on her own: drawing. She has become more ambitious in her drawing and doesn’t just want to replicate the usual subjects in the usual way. She has borrowed several books about how to draw, everything from “easy manga” to “funny animals”.

Not at all favourite activity: picking up after her. She just never remembers, so she leaves a trail of small objects behind her – pens and drawing pads, hair bands, Kalle Anka issues, books etc.

Random fact: on weekends, Ingrid loves lounging around undressed. She sleeps naked, and when she wakes (early) and walks downstairs, she usually doesn’t bother getting dressed. She lies on the sofa under a blanket and watches a movie. A blanket is impractical at the breakfast table, so then she puts on her bathrobe, and keeps it unless and until there is a compelling reason to get dressed.