I don’t know where these things come from, but I really wish they would stay there. Round two of upset stomach, and as the cherry on the top, the dh has it too. We both retired to our respective lairs today to suffer in silence.

I think it must be stomach flu as we haven’t eaten stuff in common, not with my restrictive diet. All my intake is very simple, but his is nice stuff I cook for him. Oh and I have been so careful. My hands are dry with multiple washings and sanitizing. My fingernails are also very short as I cut them so before I saw my grandson on the weekend. I can’t be touching my darling boy with long nails that might harbor germs underneath. I didn’t have long nails with my own little daughters and I am sure as heck not going to alter that now.

Speaking of the darling boy, I just saw a video of him in the first stages of crawling and wearing a big grin. He is loving his newly found mobility. Another few days and he will be taking off like a rocket. I spare a few moments of sympathy for his parents, who are about to become very stressed as he begins to explore at a high velocity.

A new baby makes me think back to when ours were tiny. We always had cats and the cat we had when the first was born was very jealous. When we walked down the path, carrying our precious bundle home for the first time, the cat rushed up to greet me. The baby made a tiny sound. The cat froze in horror, turned about and we didn’t see him for the next three days. He was so jealous of the babies that he pretended they didn’t exist, not that he was deprived of attention ever, but that is how it went with him. Aware that babies and young children are not gentle with fluffies and that he was not a happy camper, we brought our kids up on the concept that kitty was ‘sharp’. This worked very well and they left him alone to ignore them in peace. They all adored him, but it meant nothing to him. Other cats joined the family, but these were not a problem, having come after the girls, who were now old enough to know a kitty needs to be stroked very gently.

Of course, there was one exception to the rule of peace. I got talked into taking in an adult female cat from a shelter. She was a lovely girl, but I think she had been mauled by previous kids as she hated my very well-trained ones. The crux came when she attacked kid 2 just for opening a door for her. My dear mother-in-law, also a hopeless cat slave, helped me find a home for the cat with a wonderful senior lady. Dorothy, although very spry and in good heath, had been denied a life companion by the rescue centre as they deemed her too old. How retarded! Dorothy had grown-up grandkids, which was my main concern for the well-being of the cat, and the cat didn’t scratch furniture, which was her concern as she had antique furniture. It was love at first sight for both of them.