Alison Hodgson

Expert on the etiquette of perilous times.

Aunt Ali’s Home for Wayward Wizzles

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Torey called this morning and sounded like she had just woken up from a bender.  She was sick and had been up 3/4 of the night with Willa.  I brought her some medicine  and took Willa away. While I was packing up, Willa dropped a Cheerio on the floor, started screaming and threw herself down.
I gave her a time out in the little chair beside me.  She quieted immediately and I think she felt like a big girl because she seemed to enjoy sitting there.  As I write she’s taking a little nap.  My mom, God bless her, took Christopher and Ren to a museum but will be returning them soon.
Today was going to be a busy day; I had a lot on the agenda.  Tomorrow is my normal day having Willa here and it’s been a busy week, so I’m behind on some (many) things.  I packed for Willa to spend the night since David was sick yesterday and a quick recovery for Torey is more likely without Wizzie Doo.  I want it to be perfectly clear that it is NOT the Sleep Clinic that is opening its doors.
The photo above was taken a couple of months ago when Lulu was helping me make lasagna.

PDA

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The little girl pictured below is sick and has been for a couple days and – God help us – nights. Tending a vomiting child is never a delight especially in the middle of the night, when you’ve already changed the sheets, been pooped on, splattered with vomit and awakened several times. Every time Eden awoke I ran to her side, stroked her head, cleaned up the mess, tucked her back in and then – per her request – slid in beside her to stay until she fell asleep. Once her breathing deepened I would creep back to the comfort of my own bed until the next awakening, of which there were many.

Both nights Paul has been up for most of the rounds but last night I let him sleep through a couple. This morning he woke first, made coffee and then woke me with a fresh cup in one of my treasured jadeite cups. I was clutching it to my chest, waiting for it to cool when Eden climbed into bed beside me, wafting a vile smell. I held it up high while she snuggled in beside me. Paul returned with his own mug and the paper.

Once I was fully awake I began to sip my coffee and took a good look at him. Despite knowing that he had showered the morning before he looked like it had been days, maybe weeks. I commented on his appearance and tried to make an algebraic equation out of his lack of sleep directly proportional to the greasiness of his hair.

“If h = hours…” but that’s as far as I could get. We both began to laugh and I fell into his arms.

“And now Daddy and Mama are going to do some kissing, Eden,” I warned. All our kids are embarrassed by any public displays of their parents’ affection.

“Oh no!” She said and turned her head away. “Why do you have to kiss so much?”

“You wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for our kissing!” Paul and I said in unison.

“Other people don’t kiss as much as you do!”

“Who?” I demanded.

And then she named names.

“How do you know? You aren’t around them all the time?”

She conceded the point with her silence.

Christmas Recap Pre-plague

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This isn’t really a good picture of Birdie, but I have forgotten how to load more than five pictures per post.  Something went wonkie several months ago and then I got busy with something else and then – LOOK THERE’S A CHICKEN!  That’s the punchline to a joke a friend of mine, who does NOT have ADD, likes to tell, poking fun at those who do.  All that to say, I posted this to be democratic to include Lydia and Wizzie in my five allotted photographs.  Ahem.  

This was taken at Mom’s when we celebrated Christmas with Torey’s family before they vaunted off to Canada to spread the plague afurther.  Torey was home sick.  Willa was (allegedly) recovered and was sent with Ren and David to the party.  She is just one little bundle of germs which she (not so happily) spread to all of us.  But we are ignorant of this.  None of us know that the clock on general health and the workings of our most basic processes is ticking.  Oh the humanity!

At least we went out smiling. 

Or staring crazily and scratching our noses.  Whatever.  This picture looked much funnier as a thumbnail.  Too lazy to edit.  Perhaps it’s foreshadow.  Maybe Dave has caught sight of the intestinal degradation that is about to ensue.

I always get a picture of Paul and David sitting together laughing.  Paul has put in fifteen years in the family and David has done six.  It’s good they can still smile.  The funny thing is that both of these lads really wanted to join the clan.  They are both intelligent men and clearly thrill seekers too.

Or maybe it was an experiment in eugenics.  Did both of them know that Torey’s and my genes seem to be entirely recessive?  Perhaps they thought it would be easier than cloning.  They have probably reconsidered, but who can argue that the experiment wasn’t a success?  Certainly not the little revelers pictured above.

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Kids, I’ve been taken out by a terrible cold, at least that’s what I thought for a couple of days as I gulped immunity drinks and took my vitamins.  Then I woke up with intense sinus pain and thought, “Oh it’s my allergies!”  and began to take something for that.  After a  couple days of pain and exhaustion it occurred to me that last year when my allergies flared within a couple hours of taking my anti-histamine I felt fine.  The next morning I went to the doctor who diagnosed me with a sinus infection exacerbated by allergies. 

I was barely on the mend when Torey came down with a plague, so I brought her and the girls to my house.  I’d rather not write about that as Willa has been engaging in some sort of scream fest generally, combine that with hours without her mama and it was ugly, my friends.  I was being pulled in so many directions it was comical.  Fortunately I just kept dealing with things (read: the other children) as they came up, “I know you want to swim, but have you noticed this small person?  Yes, this one with the red face, who is shrieking, I’m a wee bit involved with her right now, but I will certainly attend to your needs as soon as I meet hers.” 
I never met hers.
Repeat the above conversation, adding different outrages, atrocities and needs about a thousand times, throw in several trips across town (lessons, classes, parties!) and you have my experience last Wednesday.
The summer is a flying.  It’s been fairly low key and that has been good.
We are alive and well and, most days, having a lovely relaxed summer.
I’ll keep you posted…eventually.

https://alisonhodgson.com/2008/07/420/

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Late last night Lydia had an appendectomy.  

She’s doing great.
As I write she’s watching a movie, surrounded by the flowers and balloons and clutching the stuffed horse her father bought her.  She’s thrilled to be missing school.
I spent a very short night’s sleep on a little chair bed beside her and am having a little trouble typing and spelling.  
This has been a surreal time.  24 hours ago she was fine and now, thank God, she is fine again.  She is our middle child, between an older brother with special needs and a much younger sister.  Hers is a challenging position.  Paul and I are praying that God uses this experience to communicate to Lydia, in the depths of her spirit, that she is a cherished member of our family, that she is beloved, because she is.

https://alisonhodgson.com/2008/04/466/