We have been the house of ill since I last posted. My daughter had been off school and then, on Wednesday, my son was mysteriously ill. Well, he did have a cough which sounded bad, and it is better, so I guess that he was ill enough to have the day off. And due to the snow on Wednesday, I had to work from home as well (I did not feel up to cycling on ice). Anyway, both are better now. Sadly, my wife, who injured her knees on Sunday is not back to normal, though she is improving.
My son though is very happy. When it came to Pokémon Go I had got another raid pass to catch a MewTwo. My son had got one as well, but this was for a raid in Devon, because of him playing Pokémon Go when he was there last year on our summer holiday there. Sadly, it is for this Sunday, and we have told him that we will not be travelling down there just for this. My daughter has been given a pass for one in Brightlingsea and we may or may not go to this. But going back to the raid, this was my second chance to get one of these rare Pokémon, the first raid being one that only a few turned up to take part in (which meant that I failed in this). And there was a large turn out. The MewTwo was defeated and of the fourteen players there, eleven caught it. And guess who was one of the three who failed...
Before I get onto freedom of speech, my son and I had an actual fight. We are very alike in many ways and this can lead to conflicts that do not occur between my wife and him, nor between my daughter and I. We have made up now though. Both kids have been a bit snappish, but after breakfast, my daughter got herself out of it. My son who was not as bad as she had been though continued to have a bit of attitude at times. To be fair to him, most of the time, he was okay, but after an eventful trip to Freeport which involved a knee injury to one member of the family (or rather two), things got worse. There was the odd occasion there, but nothing too much, but once at home things blew up. It did not help that both of us were a bit tired. But it is all settled now and my son was great once he calmed down and was the bigger man than me when it came to seeking peace between the two of us. Anyway, the kids are relaxing in front of the Voice now before they head off to bed, which should be soon. Due to my spectacular illness last week, we are catching up on that episode as well as the one from last night that we had not watched.
We had been out the night before with Isobel and Tony, starting in the evening which meant that Tony and I missed the Arsenal match. While he was walking down with his lovely wife, he was getting updates on the score as Arsenal thrashed Everton at home. My son was there with us while my daughter was at a birthday party. We had good food, and for the two ladies, good wine. That day had been a busy one for the kids and my wife with trips out shopping as well as a race to drop my daughter off in time.
And the Arsenal match was a good one. Our home form is much better than our away form, which is not good for our match against The Scum next weekend. And we were helped by the terrible defending of Everton which is not going to be present next week. It was great to see our two new signings play so well, but they face a much tougher test next weekend.
I have had a spectacular illness, one which while not very serious, is one that I have recovered from. For which I am very glad.
On Saturday, we travelled to London to see my mother. Before we met her, we popped over to the house of my wife's parents to check up on it. We had discussed if we should return from London that day, but had decided to stay over for the weekend and go somewhere on Sunday morning. But, while resting at watching television, I realised that I did not feel too well. And then it hit me, vomiting and a raging temperature. I ended up in a jumper, fleece, overcoat and was wrapped in a duvet and still felt cold. Needless to say, the kids were taken by my wife to see my mother (and brother and his partner) while I stayed in bed with the occasional trip to the toilet. My wife was great and took great care of me both then, and also the next day. But while the vomiting had settled, I was still feeling unwell with a fever and inability to eat. In fact, due to this, I was not able to return to work until Tuesday, and then, was not able to eat that much.
But today, I have got back to my normal(ish) self. Being Wednesday, I have a different job, one that requires me to cycle. So my son rode his bike into school, and I noted that his strength doing so is improving. Then a ride to work, which I was capable of, but my bike chain kept coming off. That required a trip to the bike shop and £70 quid later, I had a bike with a new chain, gear set and the ability to not have to worry about the chain coming off all the time.
Since the last post, the most amazing thing that happened was when my wife and the children were on national radio. Yesterday, I was dropped off at work (my wife was worried that as it was raining that I would slip and die if I cycled there) to do my paperwork. They then went away to shop and prepare for some guests arriving today. On the way back, then I was walking home (with a detour to catch Pokémon, I got rung. My son had rung into a national radio station and managed to get on! I got to listen to my wife, and children talking on air to the nation!
Anyway, today, it snowed and we had Adam and Victoria around for a late lunch. It was great having them around, they have been round before and will no doubt come round again.
My daughter is very proud, and rightly so. When we had visited her school, before she joined up properly, one of the things we were shown was the library. Outside it, there was a chart detailing who had scored the most for reading different books, the names of the girls who had done so being in a star. We did wonder if she would be one of those on it, as she loves reading. Well, she made it, scoring loads of points for the reading that she had done last term.
Like many across the nation of my age, I was shocked to hear of the sudden death of Dolores O'Riordan. When younger I loved the song Linger, in fact I still do. Working in healthcare I am reminded how fragile life is, but this reminder, despite the way I see death stalk those younger, is stronger than others. I suspect that this is probably because of the sudden nature in how this happened, a death when no one amongst the public expected it.
As a family, we have been watching a film based on one Jane Austen film, in some stages. And the kids love it. Hopefully they will read the book, which to be fair is one of many classics that I have not done so. On the topic of family and relationships, it was interesting to see how a politician who left his (second) family for a model half his age has felt it necessary to dump her after she was 'indiscreet' on social media about her racist views about the royal family.
And I have finally watched the two most important games from yesterday. First of all, the nail biting match between Liverpool and Manchester City which means that Arsenal remain the last team to finish a season unbeaten. And of course the capitulation of Arsenal away to Bournemouth. While many are calling for the head of Arsene Wenger, it may be too early to say so. We were without several first team players and we are still in the league cup as well as the Europa Cup. I have to be honest in that I am torn between loyalty towards him and the desire for the club to evolve. Anyway, I am to watch StarvTrek now. good night all.
Okay, it was not all the family, but it was a nice walk anyway.
Yesterday, Lynne and Steve came round. We had not seen them in a while and they were surprised to see how much our daughter had grown. It was great to have them around, though I was quite sad and had to go to sleep before they left. My son did spend the time watching The Voice UK, but had to miss the last act as he had to go to bed.
Today, we spent the morning in bed watching Once Upon A time before my wife went out for a lunch time meet with Michelle for her birthday. After the kids were fed, and a discussion was had over issues with behaviour (followed by ice cream), we (without my wife) walked into town. It was a lovely walk, the kids were amazing during it. We went to Waterstones were my daughter bought some books, and then it was a trip to the Comic Book Shop. Each time I go there, I hope to see a copy of Groo the Wanderer, but I have not been so fortunate, yet. This time, my son bought some Pokémon cards, my daughter bought a poster, and I bought a fridge magnet. And they did not mind the walk back either.
All in all, a good day. And one I hope we improve on.
