Wednesday 15 September 2010

Home. And breathe ...

A picture heavy set of clues as to what I've been up to.
Can you guess?





















Two nights away in a VW camper. Just two nights. No problem, right?
BUT:
at the campsite there was no, or at best patchy, phone coverage
I was alone with my boy, alone with the weight of that responsibility we all feel so acutely
I was over an hour from home
the weather forecast wasn't great
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And yet, I went for it.
And we both survived.
And I feel so glad I pushed myself to do this.
A couple of mild hypos but they were soon zapped with juice boxes and sleeping so closely with Frank helped me feel more confident.
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Best moment: Frank walking to the shower block the first morning and saying : "Mama, kiss" and kissing me over and over and over again.
He loves camping out in the van.
Worst moment, and this moment nearly stole the whole bloody thing from me: A hypo coinciding with falling asleep on the A12 on the way home with me unable to stop in speeding traffic and shouting at him that I'd get the juice in two minutes; him falling asleep with his mouth open (you know, really dramatic imagery of a DEAD person) and me thinking "You bastard, diabetes, you will not have my boy".
Juice given and he slept an hour before waking in a great mood and eating a big dinner.
I needed a lie down in a dark room.
*********************
I accept this condition as the uninvited bad, and stinky to boot, fairy at the party but I hate the super-size-me additions.
When they fall asleep in the car none of us thinks: "Oh, great, I can stop for a while and read" or "I can listen to my music now rather than Wind in the Willows for the millionth time".
No, we have to think: "OK, is he low or crashing? Should I pull over now or keep driving? Is he pale? Was that a twitch? Is he about to fit? Oh, bugger, I haven't actually been looking ahead for two miles now ...
Oh, my friends, and on it goes ...
We had a great time.

7 comments:

  1. I hate,hate,hate when they fall asleep in the car like that. It scares the bejeezus out of me...and like you said, I am not paying attention at all to the road...which most likely scares the bejeezus out of everyone else.

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  2. A message sent by a friend of mine:

    Hi Andrew
    I know blogs are public documents, but I feel obliged to say that I've been reading muffinmoon (cos I know you!). Julie writes so beautifully about you and Frank, and I often "well up" reading it! Have bought the ingredients for Date Slices now....

    Make sure you update your poetry time slot as I'm hoping to catch it. My choir are singing 6-7pm outside the slug and lettuce ! eek!

    (note for anyone reading this - we're both appearing at Colchester Free festival this Saturday)

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  3. I end up yelling into the backseat 'GRACE!' then rolling down the windows for cold air to hit her and wake her up! I am sure I am driving her to therapy when she is older because of it... save now for the therapy bills!
    So glad you got away and did so well. I like that you pushed yourself to do it. That's what kids remember.

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  4. I am so impressed. I have been wanting to drive down to Portland, OR to visit friends ..just me and Addison..and I am TERRIFIED of being on the highway and having a low hit when I can't tend to it. I don't want D to hold me back but honestly..sometimes it does..at least temporarily.
    So glad you had a good time ..can I come visit and you me addison and frank can road trip in the van together?!!

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  5. What a fun Mom you are - Frank is a lucky boy! We have a van and Emma is in the backseat so when she feels low while driving I pull a bag of candy from my person and try to toss it back to her without crashing...exciting times I tell you.

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  6. Sleeping children in the back seat of my car used to be a welcome sight...not anymore!!! If either of my girls fall asleep during a car ride I most definately go into panic-mommy mode. D just takes the joy out of those little things sometimes.

    So glad you had a great trip and Frank is lucky to have such an AMAZING mama like you :)

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  7. Wow, Jules. What a difficult, difficult burden. I celebrate when Lucy falls asleep in the car; I can't imagine the worry you must feel!

    Thanks for your sweet comment about my dress. I don't know a lot of boy patterns, but did you see "Celebrate the Boy" at the blog MADE? There were some cute tutorials there. (http://www.dana-made-it.com/2008/07/celebrate-boy-archives.html) I also remember boy pants and a cute boy shirt in Heather Ross' book "Weekend Sewing." I've made a few things from that book and like it quite a bit.

    Hope you had a great day rubbing "eafs!" I agree--one of the best parts of homeschooling is getting to experience it all yourself. :-)

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