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One of the traits of family life is sharing. You share the good times
and the bad, your experiences and knowledge. To be a family is to share. You
share your love and your time and a lot of your money. Children are not cheap
creatures to bring up. The calculations are that the average cost for parents
is about £250,000 per child during their lifetime. One thing I do not like my
children sharing with me though are their bugs. Those horrible little things
they seem to catch so easily, especially during their early years when they
first start Nursery, then Primary school and come into contact with other
children.
You try your hardest not to catch them, but it very hard not to give your children a good night kiss, even if their nose is running like Niagara Falls. Last month my youngest came down with a chest infection that left him sounding as if he smoked eighty cigarettes a day. When his temperature kept rising, and he came out in a purple rash all over his face, it was time for me to call 111. My first concern was Meningitis. That dreaded word that sets fear into the hearts of even the bravest person. We were advised to take him straight to the A and E department at the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital, which we promptly did. The service was excellent, even though the staff were under a lot of pressure. Seven hours later after various tests, he was released. It was not the dreaded M word, but an infection that he would recover from with plenty of tender loving care.
I tried my best for the next two weeks not to catch his bug and thought I was in the clear. I had planned ten days holiday potting about our home catching up odd jobs, but instead, on the very first day I woke up with a sore throat. By lunchtime, my nose felt as if it was going to explode, and then I spent the next five days lying in bed feeling dreadful. The whole ten days turned out to be drab experience, and one that left me more tired than before my break. Maybe that's what I needed. Ten days of basically doing nothing. I had to make a special effect one day because it was my youngest birthday and we had organised a party session tubing with his friends at the Norfolk Ski Club. No matter how tired I felt, or the cold sweats I put on a smile, and mingled with the other parents who stayed to watch their little loved ones hurtle themselves down the dry ski slope in a large doughnut ring.
All the kids loved it and afterwards we had pizza delivered with other delights of nibbles, and drinks for the children to enjoy They had a great time and so did I.
But that's family life, sharing the good with the bad.
Regards
Mark
