Hospital experience

It’s a fact of life. Young children can be bouncing around and healthy one moment and then suddenly they are not well and are showing signs of distress. Well this happened to grandson A last weekend. We’d all been to the seaside and when we waved our goodbyes on Sunday afternoon he seemed tired but fine. So that night when Daughter V rang to tell me that Grandson A was outside in an ambulance, it took a while for my brain to take it in.
It turns out that at bedtime A began to be restless and unable to settle. His parents then realised he was having difficulty breathing. When they rang NHS direct who heard his laboured breathing, an ambulance was then called. The ambulance crew were concerned and so A and his daddy were soon driven off to the hospital and did not return home until the early hours.
The next day it began well but by mid-morning I had another phone call to say that they were on their way back to hospital as Grandson A had taken a turn for the worst. Fortunately I was able to travel down to keep them company whilst in casualty. I am glad as they were there for over 6 hours. When I got there A was asleep on the bed, but he was breathing quite fast and he did look really pale. This does have a happy ending. The last doctor who came to see A was great. Before he walked into the cubicle the doctor had been watching A eating a fruit pastille which is a good sign. I gather you cannot swallow if you are having difficulty breathing. This doctor knew how to approach a small child and after a thorough examination we were given the ‘OK’ to go home.
Grandson A has a cold, and the virus attacked his windpipe and it became inflamed. This will probably happen again but with this doctors clear instructions, daughter V knows what to do and what to look out for. We finally left the hospital at 5pm, laden with a list of instructions, medicine and an inhaler.
Grandson A is back to normal, whilst his parents are still reeling from their 24 hours scary experience.

Happy holiday moments to remember

• Watching all four grandchildren playing on the beach. The two youngest had taken everything off whilst the older ones were wearing their swimming costumes. They were soon all covered in sand and busy trying to bury each other’s legs.

• Walking all grandkids along the promenade. All had little or no clothes on except Granddaughter E who insisted on wearing her princess toy tiara and earrings. They were all holding hands and talking non-stop whilst heading for the pier shop where Grandma was to buy them two buckets and spades.

• Taking them all to the local Farm Park. Grandson A saw some miniature ponies and insisted on calling them ‘Nana’s orsees’. We tried unsuccessfully to correct him, as it seemed not to make sense. Then his mother realised what he was talking about. In Ireland his Nana and Pops live on a small farm and they have a couple of miniature ponies. So he was right. They were ‘Nana’s orsees’.

• Letting them all play with the earth in the back garden. The ground is so dry under the Yew tree that they all had a great time using the buckets and spades to transport the earth into the wooden summerhouse that I let them use as a Wendy house. Grandson P and Granddaughter E really do play well and can entertain themselves for ages. The two younger ones just love to be in the midst of it all. Yes, it was a mess but very easily swept up and it was a joy seeing them all play together.

• Feeding time is not one of my favourite times of the day, but the grandchildren eating together was great. A little bit of healthy competition chivvied them on until all was eaten. Mind you I did let them watch ‘Ben and Holly during meal times. Something I would never have encouraged with my own daughters.

• Finally being asked by Grandson P if they could all come and stay again sometime. Of course they can. But Grandpa and I need a little break first.

The Rude, the Pushy & the Polite

This blog is different this week.   On Wednesday I was on my way back home.  It was after 7pm so I was expecting a reasonable uneventful journey.  All went well until I had to change from the underground to an East Anglia train.  The announcement at the station informed us that there had been a fire and all trains were subject to delay or cancellation.  I followed the crowd onto the platform.  As I reached the top of the stairs some man behind me muttered something about me blocking the way.  I turned and looked straight at him and asked him not to be rude. He repeated what he had said and I looked him straight in the eye and repeated what I had said.  Well, all he had to do was to say ‘excuse me’ and I would have immediately moved out of the way.  The platform was reasonably crowded so I just waited until the train came in.   Trying to get on the train with my suitcase whilst being pushed back by another young man was too much.  Again I said ‘ No you don’t’ and eventually got on. Then the story changes.  A lovely man who was standing in front of me moved forward enough so that I could hold on to a bar and keep my case out of the way. I thanked him and remarked on how he was the first person to be polite.  He giggled but for the rest of the journey he managed to find me a seat and put my suitcase up on the rack.  Since that day I have been thinking about why I responded in such a way to three individual situations.  I believe that having had three days looking after my grandchildren, I reacted to the men in the same way, as I would have done to my grandchildren.  Rudeness should not be tolerated, pushing is not acceptable and politeness should always be praised and encouraged.

What is the fundamental difference between boys and girls?

Ok, ignore the obvious. As far as I am concerned it’s that boys really like to jump. I first noticed grandson P had a kamikaze streak especially at bedtime. He would suddenly start jumping from one piece of furniture to say the settee. This would continue until he hurt himself or I would have had enough and it suddenly became ‘storytime’. Beds became trampolines and stairs became jumping off ledges. Grandson A is now 21 months old and he has begun to hurdle himself off furniture. This week I discovered that I could no longer sit in bed chatting to my daughter whilst sipping a cup of tea. It is only 7.30 a.m. so that’s why we are in no hurry to get up. A is up and eager to jump. He climbs up on the bed, grabs a pillow and then proceeds to scramble up onto the padded headboard. He then stands up and flings himself onto the bed face down. I had been warned, so my cup of tea and I have already moved over to the other side of the room. He loves doing it and it is relatively safe. My next delight is to make my bed before he discovers what I am doing as he insists on bouncing on the mattress. What will he be doing next week?

Making dresses

Its really great fun dressing little girls especially when they are young and will let you decide what they should wear. Granddaughter L wears adorable outfits and knows when she looks cute. Last week we went shopping together and the number of people who smiled at her as she trotted along wearing a little white ensemble was surprising. Maybe it was her twinkly trainers that caught their eye. Granddaughter E is that much older so would prefer to choose what she wears. Last week it was pink pyjama bottoms and her new swimming costume. It actually looked good. Mind you, her favourite is still a pretty dress or her pink ballet dress.

I recently have had a full body check up from one of my grandchildren. I am about to have a shower and granddaughter E is chatting to me. Suddenly the conversation turns to my body. We have a frank discussion about why parts of me are larger than her Mummy’s. Its OK as she is only three and she is only talking about what she sees. I have my shower and put on a summer dress. Nothing more is said. Later on that day I notice her looking at me again. She tells me that she likes my dress, the colours and pattern. Then she tries to discuss the style and that’s when she mentions that it is rather like a dress that pregnant ladies wear. She’s right, it is. Will I be affected by what she has said? Probably yes. Will I do anything about it? Probably not.

World Cup Weekend

Grandpa finally gets to see the World Cup in person.  Thankfully I am not included.  I find it all too stressful. Anyway Grandpa and son-in-law D flew off to Johannesburg on Tuesday and I started my 10 days of being with each daughter in turn. My choice and I have no regrets.

At the weekend it was decided that both daughters and grandkids should come up to Suffolk.  Summer seems to have arrived and where better to spend time together but in the back garden of my house.  We had the paddling pool out, the sun chairs in position and the umbrella up for shade. The grandkids had a great time.  Granddaughter E and grandson P really do get on and they played imaginary games all day.  Grandson A and granddaughter L just followed and copied what ever the older ones were saying. Bedtime was a bit chaotic as it was decided that 3 of the grandkids would sleep together whilst Grandson A would sleep in my room.  Well Granddaughter L really loved having an audience.  She kept on chatting, laughing and throwing her toys at the older ones so much that eventually they all had to be separated.  Granddaughter L really sobbed but eventually we had peace, and the 3 adults were able to open a bottle of wine and relax.  Yes it was very special weekend for us all.

Its been moving time with daughter G.

Always a stressful event and jolly hard work. This is when Grandpa becomes really popular. He is really handy with the drill so this time I was the spare part. Mind you that didn’t last for long as I soon became guardian of the grandchildren whilst huge pieces of furniture were transported onto the removal lorry. Little Granddaughter L wandered around following her brother. The only sign of stress showed in her eyes whereas Grandson P seemed OK. He kept himself occupied with playing with any toy that hadn’t been packed yet and watching the men.

I thought he was fine and we did lots of chatting about the new house and how it would be like at Christmas when he had to unpack his toys in the new house. Finally we were all ready and it was time to leave and grandson P suddenly looked at his Mummy and said “Is it time to leave the house now?” When he was told that it was he burst out crying. This was the house he was born in, this was the place where he had his toys, his bedroom, his books, where neighbours knew his name and said ‘Hello’ and where he felt safe. No wonder he was sad. Four hours later he had is new bedroom, toys were hastily unpacked and strewn on the floor and he was racing around the garden with his new football.

Grandpa and I are back home and there is some semblance of order at the new house. Granddaughter L is fine and Grandson P is back at school. Only tiny mishap during the night was that he couldn’t find the bathroom, but he’ll learn.

Shared birthday

On Sunday granddaughter L and I shared a birthday. She is now 2 years and I am one year older…… It was fun as we had a joint party. Granddaughter L had a lovely time opening her presents and playing with her cousins and friends, As I have said previously Granddaughter L loves shoes so we bought her a pair of trainers back from our recent trip to New England. As soon as we walked into the shop I saw these gorgeous trainers that were brightly coloured. But the best bit was the tiny coloured lights that flashed as one walked. So all afternoon us grown-ups watched the young ones, drank wine, had a barbecue and had lots to talk about. Meanwhile Granddaughter L wore her new bright pink and black flamingo dress with her new trainers that twinkled as she bounced around the garden.

Swimming lessons

When I pick up Grandson P from school one of the first things he asks me is ‘Am I going swimming today?’ Followed by ‘I don’t want to go’.  Well to be honest I don’t really want to either. By the time he gets ready, changes at the swimming baths, dried off and redressed I am exhausted.

Anyway he has to go as he often stays in a villa with a swimming pool so it is very important that he can swim.  When he first got in the water he had two floats per arm, a flat float to hang on to and a lovely young instructor who held on to him as he struggles across the pool,

Well last week Grandson P managed to float on his back with only one set of floats on.  Yes it is all worth it and we are all very proud.

Winning

I took Granddaughter E and her friend to the park last week.  It was only for 20 minutes so I assumed it would be fun.  Well within moments of getting on the climbing frame the banter began.  Each wanted to be first and the loser made a loud protest about being second. This went on whilst on the slide, roundabout and rocking horse.  By then I had begun to sound like a Grumpy Gran, so decided to cut our losses and head back to their mothers.

On the way back they decided to race and as it was on the grass I did not interfere.  Suddenly another mini argument started with each one declaring that they were the winners.  Whilst they were shouting at each other they were gradually edging closer to each other and eventually they collided and landed flat out on the grass.  No one was hurt so I just walked around the prostate bodies and told them to get up. A bit dishevelled they got back up on their feet, no worse for wear and absolutely adamant they would love to go to the park with me again next week.

I have always wondered what it must be like to be an MP during the run-up and after an election.  Well maybe they run the race, shouting all the way that they are winning, then they collide on polling day and once they have tripped up, dust themselves off and in the words of the song ‘ start all over again’.

I wonder if Granddaughter E and her friend are preparing to go into politics.  We’ll see!