Farewell, old friend . . . .

The B says his goodbyes.....

In charting a child's progress, there are various milestones that can be used, some more obvious than others.
There are those that are calendar-based, for instance (birthdays, Christmas and the like), and there are others that focus on the developmental (such as talking, walking and learning to drive the car).
I've always found that equipment and apparel - and their importance or otherwise - make for the most telling markers.
There's nothing that says that another stage has been reached quite like the expensive acquisition of a car seat that has fewer straps and less padding or the progression to the toothpaste that, for the first time, has a stripe.
I remember the first time we travelled and didn't need to take the steriliser.
Happy days indeed . . . .
I mention this because, in recent days, two more significant milestones have been reached.
The first, the long-awaited removal of The G's bed guard.
Three nights down, she hasn't fallen out, a sure sign of her readiness.
The second, not such a celebration . . . .
For the first time since September 2007, we are a pushchair-free household, our faithful old Maclaren having accompanied Deathtrap 1 to the tip, both having spent recent times languishing in the garage's darkest corner.
Two reasons for this:
1) The G's legs are 100% operational these days and it's no longer required.
2) It is unfit for purpose.
Its rear left wheel had worn away, almost to nothing, indicative of the fact that a) for a long time, I pushed a sleeping B innumerable miles in it; and b) our regular route during this time was a circuit and involved lots of left turns.
Pound for pound, perhaps the best B&G-related purchase of all time, the Maclaren has accompanied us everywhere and played its part in some good times.
"I'm going to miss the old buggy," The B lamented as it disappeared into the appropriate skip. He's not the only one . . . .