Back from the dead so to speak

The last 2 days have been absolute hell for me. Never have I felt so sick, well, in about a year or so. I usually get visited by tonsilitis once a year. Its like christmas only I'm not as happy about it. Dates back to not getting the feckers remove when I was younger. This time however, along with tonsils the size of a GAA football, I had a chest infection and a fever. Bring it on. What a week it had to pick though. I had a half day on the Tuesday thank god, got home, changed and we headed for Athlone. The kid and her mate were getting the bus down as we all wouldn't fit in the car. She had been upset at school. I know its sounds stupid but sometimes , with all that we've gone through, we
tend to forget that she lost Mam too. Not forget as such, but..I don't know how to explain it. Thankfully the mate K was coming with us and she was good support for the kid.

The B&B was absolutely gorgeous. If you are ever in Athlone, I would recommend it. http://www.thebastion.net/ Its such a hippyish place. Everything organic and fair trade. The lampshades were made from recycled paper! I was well impressed. I went to bed when we got down and only got up before the Mass. I wasn't sure I was going to last the night but as it was not only Mam's anniversary but the brother's bday I had to make the effort. I know, nail me to a cross. Out to the church, chit chat with the relatives. Snippets of the conversation:
"God, is she 18 already? Doesn't time fly."
"She'll be doing the Leaving next..
"And what does she want to do afterwards"
"Don't mention the match, it was tragic.."
"
Because the friend and the kid look so alike, there were a few comments about the red hair and the black ensemble. Nothing major. The minute mass was over the kid headed to the grave and left us to chat to the relatives. It wasn't too bad, one of the aunties couldn't make it and sure enough, the other two immediately started bitching. The nice uncle from 'the other side of the family' showed up. He's lovely. He's such a dad. I think himself and the aunty are
going to come to the kid's 18th. She'll be delighted. Into town for the bday dinner, drop the cake into the restaurent, explain what we want done. Food, banter, talk of meerkats , tractors and the ploughing championships. As it turns out, I finally have someone to accompany me! 7 years of waiting :) The brother is big into so we're going to head for one of the days. The look of relief on Mammy2's face was classic. The cake was brought out, Happy birthday was sung and the brother was suitably embaressed. Onto the local bar for a few rounds.

Once we were back in Dublin yesterday, it was straight to bed for myself and Mammy2. The kid was dying the mates hair pink and blue. Don't ask. I'm beginnging to think the kid runs a hair saloon from our bathroom. Which by the way is starting to look like some sort of fresco painting, the amount of colours floating around it. The kid worried me yesterday by showing un-prompted concern for me. Usually when she's sick, and that's quite often, its all about her. Well she is a teenager does need mammying. But yesterday she was offering me tea and ran me a bath. I was sure I was on the way out. Mammy2 was shattered and headed straight to bed when she got home. I had some work to do so I sat up whilst the kid entertained me with stories of school and her mates. She's still horrifed that Mammy2 has a bebo account. The look on her face was classic when Mammy2 mentioned it. I think she thinks we might be spying on. To be quite honest, I wouldn't look up her profile at all. The mate S looked up her nieces profile and was a tad shocked at some of the pictures. Sometimes ignorance is bliss.

Good news! Our GP came back and found a clinic that will do the tests we need regarding fertility. Its in Kilkenny so we're hopefully going to make an appointment in the next few weeks. At least this will tell us one way or the other what the next steps are.