Graphic designer Lisa Cook draws an intimate picture of family life
with a toddler in tow

Weekends changed considerably a year and a half ago when our daughter Rebecca was born. Living in a flat within walking distance of York, I used to spend Saturday afternoons shopping in town or, if I was feeling really energetic, I’d take a long bike ride to Castle Howard with my partner Jonathan.

We would head back into York for drinks and a meal on Saturday evening, and Sunday would be a lazy day with the papers.

Now things couldn’t be more different. Leisurely shopping has been replaced by a quick whizz round for essentials before toddler boredom kicks in. If we’re lucky we can manage a lap of York Designer Outlet before finding ourselves in a playground.

If we’re having a quiet weekend, we go for a walk on nearby Skipwith Common followed by a trip to the swings. We swapped urban living for village life just before Rebecca arrived, so now if it’s a nice day we might stop off at our local pub beer garden on the way home.

Now that our daughter is taking notice of everything around her, we like to go out for the day to places like Yorkshire Wildlife Park to see a real life Raa Raa the lion, York Wheel or to an energy-zapping soft play centre.If the weather is kind, we’ll head to the coast for a run around on the beach at Bridlington or Hornsea. Rebecca also loves aeroplanes so a trip to nearby Breighton airfield is usually on the cards and maybe the National Railway Museum in York to see her second favourite – the choo-choos.

Working from home means weekends and evenings tend to merge into one big blur when I’m busy, but I try to make sure that I take time off on Friday and Saturday evenings.

Jonathan does all the cooking as, despite my surname, I’m not very good at it. So once Rebecca is in bed, we sit down to eat his latest creation and enjoy a glass of wine or two. We regularly treat ourselves to a Chinese or Indian from a local takeaway on Saturday evening, before I collapse fit to burst on the sofa to catch up on the week’s soaps or latest episode of Desperate Housewives.

When we can cajole the grandparents into babysitting, we still like to have a night out in York occasionally, meeting up with family and friends for drinks and a meal

Lisa Cook runs Cookie Graphic Design, a small, friendly North Yorkshire design company. She has more than 18 years’ experience in marketing and regional publishing, working on a wide variety of briefs from initial concept to print. For more information, visit cookiegraphicdesign.co.uk or call 07996 821063.

The print version of this article appeared in the June 2012 issue of Yorkshire Life

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