Dirty Creatures

Children are grimy little things. This year I’ve been sicker than ever  - I’ve had chicken pox, three bouts of gastro, and three or four decent colds just to top things off. I blame toddlers primarily - Henry and his chums keep their grubby little hands busy rustling about in the dirt, slapping puddles, picking food of floors anywhere and everywhere… and let’s not forget those teeny snotty noses which produce endless torrents of bogey for weeks on end. I don’t know where it all comes from but I know where it goes, Henry’s fight not to have his nose wiped means he’s doing it himself across everyone’s clothes, cushions, couches, carpets, toys… you name it. I think I might have to gladwrap the house before the next plague strikes us.

Aside from ailments, it’s been a challenging couple of weeks.  Henry’s lucky he’s so cute and that I’m pretty much won over with a smile or a flutter of his long lashes. As well as generally doing the exact opposite of what I ask 99 per cent of the time, he’s  going through an extended biting phase which has been a bit of a blow to my parenting morale.  I know things like this happen when they’re teething or frustrated but there’s always a fear that biting is the beginning of something more sinister - we’ve seen Children of the Corn, we know what can happen.

My sister-in-law gave me some sage advice early on in parenthood -  that just when you think you can’t take something anymore, whether it’s biting, hitting, whining, poor sleeping, food refusal, the stage miraculously passes.  Something new usually lands in its place but you’re so damned relieved the difficult phase is over, that you have fresh energy to tackle the next challenge.

Despite all his struggles and frustrations, Henry is also in a really lovely stage. I guess that’s toddlers for you; they are adorable and hilarious when they’re not being nightmarish and hideous. He says lots of words, he’s making friends (that he likes to kiss goodbye – cute), and he’s observing all the goings on in the world with an unending enthusiasm.  I showed him some hot air balloons in the sky one day, only to endure a half -hour meltdown when the “boons” sailed out of sight. He still whimpers a plaintive “boon” every now and then and points to the sky, so no doubt he’s going to be pretty excited and then pretty upset when we see them go past the next time.

My only other news is that I’m running a 10km race tomorrow, which will be the most athletic thing I've ever done in my life (my running prior to about 3 months ago was limited to bolting across the road to avoid getting hit by a car).  I'm not planning on partaking in the actually ‘race’ aspect tomorrow, I’ll be happy just to heave myself over the finish line.  I’ve also got a cold, which will be a good excuse if I need to get airlifted straight out of there and home to the couch. I definitely think motherhood has given me the motivation to do something like this, I’m more inspired now to set goals for myself and I know there’s no point procrastinating and putting things off because time is precious. Seize the Day, and all that stuff.


Who knows where to from here, I might attempt a half marathon next year and maybe by then Henry will be old enough to come and cheer me on. And in other good news - Winter’s nearly over people. Hooray! xxx