There’s no childcare – but my usually recalcitrant son has rediscovered his affectionate side
The boy has been off sick, which is trying for us all. I mean, him primarily of course, but us, too. Tensions were already high since his cautionary dismissal from nursery meant we had no childcare for an entire week, and forced us to shift working hours, arrange time off and pull a few late nights. Not for the first time, we marvelled that the universe doesn’t free you of all other obligations just because your child is unwell.
The stress of arranging all that was a blessing in its own way, since it distracted us from the instinctive horror you get when your perfect little dumpling falls ill. We’re not as bad as we once were. The first time it happens, you react as if they’ve been hit by bubonic plague. You’d be a monster if you didn’t. Thankfully for people bored by the plaintive angst of new parents, you do become a little bit more like that monster over time, gradually realising that minor illnesses are a common, in fact necessary, part of human development, which frees you to complain about the inconvenience of it all.
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