Musings on a Life Quite Ordinary

Zero minus 48 hours – almost 6 year old is sick, temperature, sore throat, no appetite (this last one bewilders me).   Zero minus 24 hours – almost 6 year old is no better, but fully convinced she will be completely recovered by tomorrow morning so that she can go to school and have everyone sing happy birthday to her. Zero minus 22 hours – of the 21 kids invited, 19 now say they are coming.   This goes completely against the statistics.   Must be a slow social day for 6 years olds. Zero minus 18 hours – almost 6 year old running a temperature of 39.8.   Also, it hasn’t stopped raining for 3 days. Zero minus 6 hours – my little one is finally 6; she thinks she looks taller this morning.   Going to school.   Still running a high temperature, doesn’t look so good, but refuses to accept possibility of being sick on her birthday. Zero minus 4 hours – the bouncy castle has arrived.   It fits in the garden – Just! If any kid bounces over...

The Tooth Fairy finally came to our house this past weekend.   Not once but twice. We had been waiting a long time, a very long time indeed.   The lose tooth had been wobbling, squeaking, squelching, turning, moving in any number of directions up to 90 degrees for months. So long, in fact, that the new tooth was half way up behind it when finally, last Friday a gentle tug was all it took and out it popped into my delighted very almost six year olds beautiful and grubby little hand. Months earlier, when the initial wobbling of the tooth began I fussed about and spoke to lots of other parents about what the going rate was for a milk tooth.   The consensus was 2 euro per tooth was fair considering the current financial climate.   So a shiny 2 euro coin was put aside in the inside pocket of my handbag for the occasion. Luckily we got it right, as it turned out, our almost six year old had discussed in detail with her school friends what she would get and a 2 euro coin ...

My daughter just had her very first ever Sports Day at school.   She was so excited she was fully dressed standing over us at 6.03 am on the morning of the big day.   It took me a while to talk her into our bed, well bribe with a promise of a cartoon; I wasn’t capable of a whole lot of talking at that hour. I went along on the big day to support her, bringing the toddler, the camera and a picnic. The camera turned out to be my most prized possession of the day.   Unfortunately the sheer amount of belly shaking, couldn't catch my breath for  laughing caused many of the photos taken to be blurry, but boy was it worth it. The toddler turned out to be one of the more exuberant supporters of the day.   He even went so far as to join in.   As in run down the field during the sack race and then just keep going past the finish line and beyond to the fence to chants of “Run Forest Run”. I should point out he runs like a speed walker with his little tushy clenc...