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That had me stumped for a moment.
Today was a long day, an interminably long day. Actually it didn't rain, it was humid and gray and threatened to rain but it didn't actually rain. We still stayed in all day apart from a trip to the library with H and a shorter than short trip to Asda for me. It is the very last day of 4 weeks of self imposed poverty. I am so glad it is at an end, we held our breath paid off what money we owed for my splendid trip to Boston to get it all out of the way and then we endured 4 weeks of getting on with it.
It is enormously satisfying to me to do that every now and then but the novelty wears off very quickly and I can tell you I am very ready to go shopping and take the boys out for the day knowing that we can even buy an ice cream, should we so desire.
However, today was a day of having £11 to buy the few bits we needed to get through today, weather not good enough to risk the park so we stayed in. By 11am I was ready to climb the walls but we did that the other day didn't we? Isaac came in with a minuscule blister on the palm of his hand and that's when the fun began. No band aid was going to stick to his sweaty little hand, so he brought a bandage......oh the fun we had, we found many bandages and 3 little boys had head, arms, legs and feet bandaged.
I have, from so many years ago a diploma in orthopaedic nursing, 2 years from the age of 17-19 had me living in a nurses home and working on the wards of Mouth Gould Hospital. I have so many great memories of my time as a student nurse. I made friends there and one is still my friend, through our teens and weddings, births of our children, divorces, losing parents, you name it, we've seen it together.
I left nursing after the 2 years and many times I have regretted leaving, even now I wonder about ho life would be if I had continued with my training and gone on to do general nursing, I met the first one on the train ride to interview for my general training...and I married him instead. No point in spending too much time wondering how things might have been, I am what I am, my life is what it is and there really aren't too many regrets.
I can still remember many things I learned in those 2 years, I could still give an injection, an enema ( though would certainly refuse the opportunity to do that one thankyou, oh the memories I have of giving a 'high, hot and hellava lot' with rubber tubing and a funnel) I remember many of the classes we had, the fun we had in the evenings when we off duty. I also remember how to bandage. I was pretty good with an elastic bandage and one class we had was to learn, specifically, to bandage stumps, amputees. Who knows why that class sticks in my mind so vividly except the mirth involed. We practised by bending our arms, putting our hand on our shoulder and bandaging the bent elbow.....let me tell you, when that arm is bandaged like that and then you put on a T-shirt, it looks exactly like a stump. We laughed at ourselves until we were hoarse. We were so freaked out by how realistic it looked and we all had to have our arms bandaged that way and we all learned how to do it. 28 years on, I still remember how to do it....
See? They thought it was as funny as I did all those years ago. They can't wait for halloween because they are so going to dress up and freak people out.
They loved the head bandages the best and had long moments of hysteria by bending their ears all out of whack.
Right as that photograph was taken, Seth pointed his stumpy arm at me and said in a whistly old man voice " You haven't been in many battles have you sonny?" which pretty much was the undoing of us all.
So thumbs up for any idea that keeps boredom away but oh, I am so pleased we can get out and put petrol in the car and fill a few hours outside the house tomorrow, if the sun shines as well we won't call the queen our cousin, we'll be happy as Larry ( who we like so much more than that Pete, whose sake we exclaim over so often)
In case your stomach is a little turned by the previous pictures, here's one to settle it again, how beautiful is this little man of mine?
It is enormously satisfying to me to do that every now and then but the novelty wears off very quickly and I can tell you I am very ready to go shopping and take the boys out for the day knowing that we can even buy an ice cream, should we so desire.
However, today was a day of having £11 to buy the few bits we needed to get through today, weather not good enough to risk the park so we stayed in. By 11am I was ready to climb the walls but we did that the other day didn't we? Isaac came in with a minuscule blister on the palm of his hand and that's when the fun began. No band aid was going to stick to his sweaty little hand, so he brought a bandage......oh the fun we had, we found many bandages and 3 little boys had head, arms, legs and feet bandaged.
I have, from so many years ago a diploma in orthopaedic nursing, 2 years from the age of 17-19 had me living in a nurses home and working on the wards of Mouth Gould Hospital. I have so many great memories of my time as a student nurse. I made friends there and one is still my friend, through our teens and weddings, births of our children, divorces, losing parents, you name it, we've seen it together.
I left nursing after the 2 years and many times I have regretted leaving, even now I wonder about ho life would be if I had continued with my training and gone on to do general nursing, I met the first one on the train ride to interview for my general training...and I married him instead. No point in spending too much time wondering how things might have been, I am what I am, my life is what it is and there really aren't too many regrets.
I can still remember many things I learned in those 2 years, I could still give an injection, an enema ( though would certainly refuse the opportunity to do that one thankyou, oh the memories I have of giving a 'high, hot and hellava lot' with rubber tubing and a funnel) I remember many of the classes we had, the fun we had in the evenings when we off duty. I also remember how to bandage. I was pretty good with an elastic bandage and one class we had was to learn, specifically, to bandage stumps, amputees. Who knows why that class sticks in my mind so vividly except the mirth involed. We practised by bending our arms, putting our hand on our shoulder and bandaging the bent elbow.....let me tell you, when that arm is bandaged like that and then you put on a T-shirt, it looks exactly like a stump. We laughed at ourselves until we were hoarse. We were so freaked out by how realistic it looked and we all had to have our arms bandaged that way and we all learned how to do it. 28 years on, I still remember how to do it....
See? They thought it was as funny as I did all those years ago. They can't wait for halloween because they are so going to dress up and freak people out.
They loved the head bandages the best and had long moments of hysteria by bending their ears all out of whack.
Right as that photograph was taken, Seth pointed his stumpy arm at me and said in a whistly old man voice " You haven't been in many battles have you sonny?" which pretty much was the undoing of us all.
So thumbs up for any idea that keeps boredom away but oh, I am so pleased we can get out and put petrol in the car and fill a few hours outside the house tomorrow, if the sun shines as well we won't call the queen our cousin, we'll be happy as Larry ( who we like so much more than that Pete, whose sake we exclaim over so often)
In case your stomach is a little turned by the previous pictures, here's one to settle it again, how beautiful is this little man of mine?
Labels: fun
posted by The other me | 9:50 pm
5 Comments:
May I come live with you? I could listen to you talk/sing all day AND you could give me a stump. What could be better!
I imagine you were a fantastic nurse.
I want a stump. I want to name it Helen.
The wonderful memories your children will have to share with their children!
That's it...I want to come live with you and have all that fun! Can I bring the kids? You are such a cool Mum...Seriously.
Oh & I love you & mist you....LOTS!
You said "Hospital pictures to follow. Probably". in your last post - and then show pictures of stumps - Are you trying to give me a heart attack?? It was bad enough when Seth lost part of a finger - but now two of your boys have lost arms and are smiling????
I want a stump. My boys would love stumps - and I want to freak some people out. I wish I knew how to wrap a stump. I would have loved to have taken that class with you!
good on you for being so creative on a long dull rainy day and giving those kids the time of their lives. Just as you remembered how to do it - they too will remember 'the time mum gave us stumps'.
Marvelous.
As is the littlest mug :)
oh that looks like SUCH fun! You must come and play with us someday!
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