999 Emergency!

It's been a day of mixed emotions. Our beloved dog Remy has been diagnosed with the canine equivalent of breast cancer. We won't know more until Wednesday. It left me feeling very upset and certainly not in the mood for a party, which is what Jenson and Wren had in mind from the moment they woke up. There's nothing like having kids though to pull you out of your thoughts and back into life and to be fair, a good party was what I needed to cheer me up.

It was after another successful Lego club that I felt a lump in one of Remy's glands so we whizzed her straight round to the vet where they told us the bad news. She is to have an x ray on Wednesday to see if the cancer has spread. I came out feeling very sad. We've had Remy since she was just a few weeks old. She will be 11 this August. The children were totally oblivious to the whole thing and despite my obvious woes, they were not going to tolerate not getting a party. 

And so we tramped up and down the Bath Road in the pouring rain, it was quite apt for the mood I was in. The kids however were totally unfazed: Jenson stomped around the co-op with a massive carrot hanging out of his trousers shouting, 'I've got a big willy'. It made me smile on the inside. 

The downpour got heavier so I suggested we take shelter under the butcher's awning. The kids weren't bothered in the least, Jenson in particular showed no concern. His refusal to take shelter in favour of playing in the rain warmed my heart. He absolutely loved it and for a while I forgot all about our dying dog on the end of the lead, who by this point was shivering intensely.  

I eventually managed to persuade Jenson to walk home, although he was still screaming with excitement and shouting, 'FLOOD!!!!' at every giant puddle he found. It was brilliant to see him so engaged with his environment. And to think he could be stuck inside a classroom learning something or other that probably holds very little interest to him.  

As we approached the Norwood Triangle things brightened up, literally! The rain eased and we met an ever so friendly ambulance driver. He made a little quip about how sodden we all looked and Jenson, (being a more confident soul these days) piped up, 'It's Wren's birthday today and we're having a party for her.' For those who know us you will know that Wren's birthday isn't until June but apparently when you are three you can have at least three birthday's a year! 

Anyway, according to the ambulance man, if a little girl is having a birthday, (or even an un-birthday as he called it when I set him straight about the pseudo celebration) she is allowed to turn on the blue lights of his van! It was ever so sweet of him and the children absolutely loved it, although I think they tinkered with perhaps one too many buttons as he jumped in to keep little fingers at bay! The home schooling life is full of variety and the unexpected and this was one of those moments.

When we eventually made it home, the children wanted party food and a cake to celebrate Wren's birthday. Jenson wrapped up a present he had chosen from the charity shop and then hid behind the sofa to write her a card. His writing is coming on really well. I didn't even have to sound out the letters in Wren's name and apart from the odd shout out, 'Mummy is this a W?' he managed all by himself. The letter sizing and spacing are brilliant too. They then helped me make the cake and as always showed far more enthusiasm for the bowl licking! 

Daddy got back from work just in time to help light the birthday cake and sing Wren a happy birthday. Let's hope Remy is able to see her next birthday in too.