Hi there… It’s Me and Mister C…

Well, hello… It’s the last week of the school term for us and most families in our region; both the girls have quite a few assessment pieces to complete and upload to their ‘Google classrooms’ before Friday. Mister C and Flossy have also had some school work to catch up on after missing the whole week last week, while also having a well needed catch-up with friends. It’s hard to believe eleven weeks are nearly over, where has the time gone? All the busy goings-on with the house repairs and completing our fifth book, any spare time at present has been very limited. What are you planning to do in the school holidays coming up very soon? Don’t forget the ‘Easter Bunny’ will be hopping around shortly, too (for those families who celebrate this festivity); we can’t wait for the holidays and spending some quality time together (in our PJs) and munching on some yum choc eggs too…

What strange and stressful times our family have had this last week. As I wrote last blog, poor Flossy contracted the highly contagious viral bug (yes! – that horrid nasty bug) from a friend at school and had to go into isolation for the required seven days. As Mister C and I were also home at the time of Flossy’s positive PCR test, we also had to isolate for the required period of time as well (oh no!). Almost like a forced rest (and not always during good timing), as you can imagine, all our normal daily routines were quickly thrown over the balcony (or in the bin?!), and a new kind of ‘Covid norm’ set in. Obviously, being in isolation meant staying at home; we couldn’t go anywhere, no school for Flossy or Mister C, no work for me (apologies dear colleagues) or going to the shops, nor getting in the car to drive around and get petrol either… I must stop there and send out a big thank-you to my dear friend (Hiya H.C), who came to our rescue on several occasions, with delivering Mister C’s medication and some groceries from the shops; it was stressful not being able to go and pick up any grocery items, but we felt supported and thanks ‘Door-Dash’ too (was very good service and easy-thanks heaps!). Thanks also to my dear sister and other dear friends (thanks C.M & D. P.B) who gave me a quick call and sent a few supportive text messages- it meant a lot, so thank-you!

Husband had gone to work as usual and had planned to stay in ACT over the weekend to see family (no symptoms there and a RAT test negative); Widy had made plans several weeks earlier, to go the Nowra with a close friend. In the end it did work out that both Husband and Widy were not home, I think it would have caused some tension in the house (for sure!), if four of us had to use the one toilet downstairs and not be able to go anywhere for the whole week (Oh no! I imagined Husband saying to himself). Of course, we did miss Husband and Widy very much (love you both!); luckily, we were able to speak with each other over the phone, text each other and also spend some ‘face time’ together via ‘Messenger’, which was nice. Both Husband and Widy had a period of missing us (a couple of minor melt-downs on their end) and needed some support with work and school work, which I was able to offer and give (families can always support each other anywhere and anytime).

It was tough to get our head around our unique situation (many families have done this already); then when things did settle down somewhat, it became a new weird routine of staying on our PJ’s (Mister C did love that!) for most of the morning (and sometimes into the afternoon). With Flossy having to stay in her room (at least she had her own private bathroom), I did most jobs and pottered around the house, tending to our doggies, birds, chooks and garden as well (not to mention all those ‘Ikea’ flat packs that had to be opened and put together!). Each morning, I would put my face mask on and call out “Hello, my beautiful and brave daughter!” to Flossy in the hallway, where I had put up the wooden screen (to mainly stop the dogs from going into Flossy’s room) and also prevent Mister C from using the toilet, next the Flossy and Mister C’s rooms, that was designated for Flossy only. I would then ask what she would like for breakfast (also at lunch and tea times too – not forgetting supper). The first few days, Flossy wasn’t well, with flu like symptoms and then her cough developed (thankful we had some stock of ‘Ibuprofen’ and ‘Paracetamol’ in the cupboard); slowly but surely Flossy did pick up, and began wanting some more snacks as the week went by (a good sign she was getting a bit better?). Being an experienced registered nurse (most times) has its advantages, particularly with greater knowledge regarding infection control, good handwashing techniques and more knowledge on how the Covid virus is transmitted was very helpful; thankfully with all of our good handwashing (my hands were very dry from it all!), the virus did not spread past Flossy’s bedroom door (phew- it was hard work!). It did take some calm planning (and a few stressful moments too) and some common-sense thinking, into how not to transmit the virus around the house; it’s something we do not wish to undertake again too soon either!

I have to write, how proud I am (and Dad too) of Flossy during this whole week, not once did she ever complain about having to stay in her room all day and every day (she did have her little TV and old ‘Play station’ in her room though). Mister C on the other hand had several melt-downs each day, about not being able to go to school and to see his friends (how strange about school right?), refusal to get dressed or even shower, eat meals and go outside for some fresh air (it was battle at times- I can assure you!). I guess, we can put it down to Mister C ‘s own stress in coping with his situation at the time? Overall, this week was an experience to talk about in years to come and of course, we are so very grateful that Flossy has now made a full recovery from her illness. We wish to acknowledge all the families who have lost a dear loved one during this difficult Covid climate; times have been tough with lockdowns, floods, isolations, rise in costs of living expenses- such as petrol prices at present, let alone losing a treasured family member- our hearts are with you…

A Word from Mister C…

Last year during Winter, our oldest chook girl ‘Molly’ sadly passed away. ‘Molly’ had been unwell for several days, we noted she not eaten much and had been falling asleep while standing up. Keeping an eye on her to make sure she was safe and not suffering, we tried to keep her comfortable as best as possible. Molly passed on a Saturday morning, we worked out she was probably more than seven years old. Mister C was most sad (like all of us) and said, “Gee, Mummy, ‘Molly’ was a grand old girl. She must have been over one hundred years old in chook years! Molly was so caring of our other chooks- her sisters. I hope she’s having a fun chook time in heaven with Opa and our other chook girls.” … 🐓

Stay tuned…

We are excited to announce our fifth book is due for publication and release on the 9th April (only three more days!). We will be attending the Book Fest and Author Alley event coming up this Saturday and Sunday (9-10th April). We are proud and feel privileged to be attending the event and look forward to seeing and meeting people and families over the weekend. Stay tuned for some school holiday and Easter fun stories. Apologies to our dedicated readers for the late blog this week (so tardy?); I ran out of time helping the girls with their school assessment pieces, house repairs, garden clean up and more ‘Ikea’ furniture building… Thanks for your ongoing support, remember if you enjoy our blogs, please clink on the subscribe link for Me and Mister C and join us for the blogs each week. Hugs Mister C… 🙃