Just when I thought I knew everything (or at least something!) about being a mother, Zoey caught a nasty virus last week and suddenly I felt like a fish out of water, knowing next to nothing. From working out how to give her her medicines to trying to tune into her needs when she was unwell - all became a whole new lesson and I realised that one never stops learning.
For a whole week she didn't show her usual warm smile or boundless energy. During this time I realised how far a parent's patience can be stretched by a sick child. Philip and I are not great fans of taking medicine (we would rather try to let our bodies do the hard work and get the immune system built up) but in this instance we knew we had to humble ourselves and let Zoey take three different types of medicines. Our first few attempts at giving her Calpol were a disaster with Mommy, Daddy and Granny all trying different tricks - thankfully by the third attempt we had worked out that the best way was to exploit her love of showing off: A little cheering and clapping and she was happily gulping it down (the banana and strawberry flavours probably helped too!). In the end, she was even asking for her medicine after each meal. But it was the nights that were the hardest: she woke up frequently and became very distressed. The result was very little sleep for everyone.
Anyway, Praise God that she has now fully recovered. Before she was ill I would sometimes complain about her endless energy but now I am so thankful to have Zoey back to her joyful self.
The Chinese believe that after a toddler has had a high temperatures he/she will have grown taller - Zoey must have grown a lot!
