It's been a while - but let's not dwell on that, eh?
Another snapshot from Life with Boys. Boy #1 has been manfully fighting off a cold for the last couple of days. This is the same cold his father succumbed to for a week. When I say 'cold' it was of course more than that for Husband; it was a Man Cold. This required that he commandeer the only warm room in the house (the kitchen, obvs), so that despite his life-sapping illness he could continue work as best he could, from home.
In turn this required that everyone else vacate the kitchen (remember; the only warm room in the house) so that he could make calls, and do all the other Important Things that Couldn't Wait for him to recover. Needless to say, I was delighted when the cold lifted and the kitchen was no longer off limits.
Anyway, back to Boy #1.
This morning, after a difficult night, he announced that he was too exhausted to go to school today. Thinking back to Husband's illness last week I decided to go against normal practice - which is a) to check their temperature is normal and b) make sure they are not throwing up or the Other Thing and c) if both of the previous are fine, send them to school anyway - and let him stay home. Anything to avoid a teen with a Man Cold.
I know. I am a soft touch. Except, I haven't told you my dastardly plan yet. It worked as follows:
Me: 'Ok, you can stay home....'
Boy #1: 'Thanks, Mum.'
Me: 'But! I still want you to take a shower this morning, and then you can come down to breakfast with your pj's on. If you still feel rotten after that, you can go back to bed.'
Boy #1: 'OK.' (doing his best to look pale and wan).
After a healthy breakfast (Weetabix, scotch pancakes with maple syrup), Boy #1 started to make his way into the den, phone in hand.
Me: 'Where are you going?'
Boy #1: 'Into the den. To rest...'
Me: 'Oh, no. If you're going to rest, you're going back to bed. All day. And you're leaving your phone down here.'
An hour later, he reappeared. 'I've had a rest.'
Me: 'Great. The tv's staying off though, and your phone is still off limits. I recommend you go back to bed, really knock this thing on the head.'
Boy #1 paused. 'Ummm. Actually, I think I'm ok to go to school. If that's alright.'
Another snapshot from Life with Boys. Boy #1 has been manfully fighting off a cold for the last couple of days. This is the same cold his father succumbed to for a week. When I say 'cold' it was of course more than that for Husband; it was a Man Cold. This required that he commandeer the only warm room in the house (the kitchen, obvs), so that despite his life-sapping illness he could continue work as best he could, from home.
In turn this required that everyone else vacate the kitchen (remember; the only warm room in the house) so that he could make calls, and do all the other Important Things that Couldn't Wait for him to recover. Needless to say, I was delighted when the cold lifted and the kitchen was no longer off limits.
Anyway, back to Boy #1.
This morning, after a difficult night, he announced that he was too exhausted to go to school today. Thinking back to Husband's illness last week I decided to go against normal practice - which is a) to check their temperature is normal and b) make sure they are not throwing up or the Other Thing and c) if both of the previous are fine, send them to school anyway - and let him stay home. Anything to avoid a teen with a Man Cold.
I know. I am a soft touch. Except, I haven't told you my dastardly plan yet. It worked as follows:
Me: 'Ok, you can stay home....'
Boy #1: 'Thanks, Mum.'
Me: 'But! I still want you to take a shower this morning, and then you can come down to breakfast with your pj's on. If you still feel rotten after that, you can go back to bed.'
Boy #1: 'OK.' (doing his best to look pale and wan).
After a healthy breakfast (Weetabix, scotch pancakes with maple syrup), Boy #1 started to make his way into the den, phone in hand.
Me: 'Where are you going?'
Boy #1: 'Into the den. To rest...'
Me: 'Oh, no. If you're going to rest, you're going back to bed. All day. And you're leaving your phone down here.'
An hour later, he reappeared. 'I've had a rest.'
Me: 'Great. The tv's staying off though, and your phone is still off limits. I recommend you go back to bed, really knock this thing on the head.'
Boy #1 paused. 'Ummm. Actually, I think I'm ok to go to school. If that's alright.'
