Being back in Blighty, there's an awful lot of weather to put up with. Still, it is possible to have a picnic in bad weather - as my daughter-in-law proved yesterday. Now that Elizabeth is devoid of all tubes and talking and eating, we've decided to allow Lauren, who is just short of three years old, to visit.
Chloe, who is six going on 26, came to the hospital a couple of weeks ago. She was crying and missing 'Aunty Liz,' so we thought it was better to take her to visit, even though there were still tubes in evidence. It was the right decision, as it set her mind at rest that Aunty Liz hadn't disappeared off the face of the Earth, and would be able to take her camping again at some point in the future.
Toddlers aren't big on patience, and my daughter-in-law, Helen, thought it would be a good idea to arrange a distraction so that she, Adam and the girls could enjoy a reasonably long visit after their 90 minute journey to the hospital. You don't drive all that way for a quick 'hello,' do you?
Although it was cold, wet and miserable, Helen hit on the idea of an indoor picnic. It was feasible because Elizabeth is in a single room. Helen brought cheese and onion pasties as the centrepiece of our indoor picnic. Elizabeth is vegetarian, and Helen thought we should all eat the same, so that she wouldn't feel left out. Helen and the girls spent the morning making and decorating cup cakes, and there were plenty of those as well, along with Lauren's favourite crisps and various fruit juices.
Lauren will share anything - except crisps - so there was quite a bit of hilarity when Helen put a huge bowl of crisps in the middle of the picnic rug. Yes, Helen had thought of everything. Lauren pounced on the bowl, which was almost as big as her, and repelled all boarders. Luckily, Helen had foreseen this problem, so there was another bag of crisps in the picnic hamper.
The whole thing was a great tonic for Elizabeth, as it helped her to feel normal and part of the family once more. Serious illness can be very isolating, and the indoor picnic was a great way to bring some normality back into all our lives. You can't beat the British weather, so you just have to work around it!
