DAD DIARY: Sick bay

What’s worse than the kids being sick? You being sick and the kids being in the full of their health of course.

This past week has been challenging. Usually one of the parents will be well, allowing the other one to rest somewhat. Both sick at the same time? Well you’re in bother then.

The lads were both sick the week before last. Somehow our eldest, our daughter Frankie, avoided it but no such luck for myself and Aisling.

On Monday morning last week, we both started coming down with it. It was a head cold at that stage. We were tired, low on energy but hoping for the best.

Tuesday morning and we both had a full-on cold, aches and pains, cough, sore throats, headaches – as bad as I’ve had in years. Maybe even (whisper it) slightly worse than man flu. Aisling was the same (hence ‘worse than man flu’!).

The kids? Not a bother on them – and at ages six, four and two, not a massive amount of consideration for their ill parents. Frankie did what she could but would frequently forget. Éamon and Séimí were oblivious.

If I had my way, I’d have been in bed all day, but the kids needed minding and entertaining and so myself and Aisling mustered whatever we had in us.

Divide and conquer was the approach on the Tuesday afternoon. I took Frankie and Éamon to a kids’ club walk at the National Park in Ballycroy. My hope was that fresh air (the freshest imaginable) would help and that the walk would be the definition of leisurely. Therefore, I reckoned, it would entertain and occupy them far easier than I could manage to do at home.

I was right – they absolutely loved it. The guide, Michael Chambers, was brilliant. He is a font of knowledge, and all the kids on the walk discovered so much about biodiversity and nature and found a few moths and butterflies along the way.

We went for a drive afterwards, exploring the view of Inishbiggle and Annagh islands from the Ballycroy side – trust me, they loved this and were telling Aisling all about it when we got home. And it is great to be able to entertain and mind the kids from the comfort of a car seat. Win, win.

The challenge all the time was exerting the least amount of energy to get the job done.

Once the kids were in bed at 8pm, we weren’t long after them, praying they wouldn’t wake during the night, knowing the response might not be rapid!

We also prayed that we’d never get sick at the same time again. Happily, the fact that you’re reading this means we’ve survived (just about).