Some Huck Finn Pants for our little Raf! I used a basic handkerchief linen from here. It's difficult to tell when he's standing like that but, they're actually quite cute!
This time last week we were relishing every aspect of a fun-filled, enriching week here.
A simple daily, beach-entrenched (!) ritual evolved; a (very) early morning walk on the beach, back to the cabin for breakfast and to gather our things followed by long mornings on one of the local beaches, 'home' for rests (and to avoid being in the sun during those hot midday hours) then, back for a long afternoon of more beach fun.
It was a holiday much like those of my childhood; easy, simple, so very wonderful and muchly needed (when is a week at the beach not needed!?). My picture-culling skills are poor (and inclination low) so...apologies in advance for the abundance of images.
Unfortunately, home for not quite 24 hours, Rafael was in hospital That not-so-polite and, actually quite insidious, Asthma-demon has been to visit and left us feeling less than on top of things, particularly our little boy's health. While he is now home and doing much better, we continue to watch him closely with the overwhelming possibility of another hospital stint looming should his improvement taper off in the next day or two. As we dose him up with every manner of appropriate/relevant herbal tea, tonic and vitamin etc etc (my pharmacist Dad would've been proud!), we have our fingers (and toes) crossed that his recovery will take place at home.
A simple daily, beach-entrenched (!) ritual evolved; a (very) early morning walk on the beach, back to the cabin for breakfast and to gather our things followed by long mornings on one of the local beaches, 'home' for rests (and to avoid being in the sun during those hot midday hours) then, back for a long afternoon of more beach fun.
It was a holiday much like those of my childhood; easy, simple, so very wonderful and muchly needed (when is a week at the beach not needed!?). My picture-culling skills are poor (and inclination low) so...apologies in advance for the abundance of images.
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Unfortunately, home for not quite 24 hours, Rafael was in hospital That not-so-polite and, actually quite insidious, Asthma-demon has been to visit and left us feeling less than on top of things, particularly our little boy's health. While he is now home and doing much better, we continue to watch him closely with the overwhelming possibility of another hospital stint looming should his improvement taper off in the next day or two. As we dose him up with every manner of appropriate/relevant herbal tea, tonic and vitamin etc etc (my pharmacist Dad would've been proud!), we have our fingers (and toes) crossed that his recovery will take place at home.
This, his second bout of Asthma, was/is a lesson in humility for me. To be honest, I've felt very removed and almost protected from the risk Asthma, though I know many who have experienced it. For one, neither side of our families has experienced even one Asthma attack and given the size of my family in particular, that's a significant sample size! I've always been of the opinion that healthy living, good diet, proper sleep etc would exempt us from ever considering this condition. But that's often the thing about opinions isn't it, you should never be 100% sure of anything (well, most things). At a whole new level I can now see that, while healthy living choices are important, some things are outside our control. What a reality check. It's one I've had on a personal level for my own health-related issues but to have that extended to the children is something else. We like to think we're in completecontrol and can manage our children's health don't we!? Sometimes we need a little help from others. And that's where I'm ever-so grateful for the services of our local hospital where Rafa recieved the best of care, the kindest of attention, the most informed and knowledgeable assistance. We really are lucky to have such good medical care at hand and for that I am, once again, grateful.
But I am on a bit of a rant about hospital food at the moment. I can't imagine the technical challenges that come with operating a hospital, including in terms of food services. And , from what I hear, hospital food has improved a great deal over the years but, surely there's a further challenge worth rising to in this regard. I'm convinced one is needed. During our hospital stay this week, Raf was served various concoctions of food, generally with high levels of sugar, additives, preservatives and 'bad' fats. Certainly not nutritionaly optimal, or even close to! I know, I know, we have it good here; for one, we have a functionally medical system but really, serving this type of food to sick kids (or anyone for that matter) doesn't seem conducive to restorative health and recouperation.Surely 'we' are missing part of the picture! Thankfully Dada and Elsa brought in an array of fresh fruit and vegetables which Raf and I much appreciated!
Perhaps Jamie Oliver can take it on in the same fashion he did British schools?! Or even better, a local figure. Stephanie to the rescue? I can just see kitchen gardens operating in every hospital.
Perhaps we need another week at the beach to prop us up again! And with plus 30 degree temperatures just around the corner, the thought is even more appealing. For now, the memories sustain us!
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