Southerly by David Haywood

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Southerly: Continuing After A Short Interruption

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  • Ross Mason,

    So......normal.......and then......

    Upper Hutt • Since Jun 2007 • 1590 posts Report Reply

  • Geoff Lealand,

    Lovely, David. The very best thing is when two children become the very best of friends,

    Screen & Media Studies, U… • Since Oct 2007 • 2562 posts Report Reply

  • Raymond A Francis,

    Fantastic, tear to the eye stuff
    But that Bob, he is going to go far

    45' South • Since Nov 2006 • 578 posts Report Reply

  • Raymond A Francis, in reply to Geoff Lealand,

    Presently in a house with twin boys (just turning 4) and while they look out for each other and share it, is double trouble

    45' South • Since Nov 2006 • 578 posts Report Reply

  • Lucy Stewart,

    It was extremely good marmite on toast. I was allowed to eat a slice—even though I hadn’t done anything.

    I'm glad to see toast is still considered the appropriate post-birthing snack in New Zealand. I had the privilege of watching my brother be born in 1992, and I am told that all I would talk about the next day was the nurse having let me make toast with apricot jam for my mother once it was all over. (Apparently the whole "baby brother" bit had failed to make much of an impression.)

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 2105 posts Report Reply

  • Ian Dalziel,

    Polly math…

    The elderly lady swivelled her head in my direction and gave me a long, condemnatory stare.
    Possibly the sort of accusing gaze that you inflict upon a man who…

    …would two-and-a-half-years later still recycle his daughter in a clearly labelled child killing bag!
    ;- )

    Christchurch • Since Dec 2006 • 7953 posts Report Reply

  • Deborah,

    Our fellow lift-traveller, an elderly lady, felt moved to interject a question. “Has Daddy taken you to the hairdressers?” she asked.

    Bob paused in his monologue. “No,” he said sorrowfully. “Rats ate my hair.”

    Aren't kids great!

    Although clearly the rats ate Polly's clothes too.

    New Lynn • Since Nov 2006 • 1447 posts Report Reply

  • Brent Jackson,

    Polly is adorably cute (or is that cutely adorable) in that final photograph. If you let us know your address, we could send her some clothes so she doesn't have to wear recycled plastic bags with "keep out of reach of children" written on them.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 620 posts Report Reply

  • Sara Bee,

    Priceless and precious - thanks David, Jennifer, Bob and Polly :)

    Dunedin • Since Nov 2006 • 67 posts Report Reply

  • George Darroch,

    Congratulations on the birth of your two year old!

    WLG • Since Nov 2006 • 2264 posts Report Reply

  • David Haywood,

    Thank you all for the kind comments -- only sorry that this piece is so tardy (hopefully the IRD will be as forgiving with my 2010-2011 tax return).

    Brent Jackson wrote:

    Polly is adorably cute (or is that cutely adorable)

    What a superb judge of children you are, sir!

    Ian Dalziel wrote:

    …would two-and-a-half-years later still recycle his daughter in a clearly labelled child killing bag!

    Yes, it's funny how you sometimes don't notice these things until a responsible adult points them out.

    Polly is very keen on making stuff and doing experiments. She has to wear plastic bags a lot so that her poor father can occasionally have break from the washing machine.

    Dunsandel • Since Nov 2006 • 1156 posts Report Reply

  • Aidan,

    Bunging someone 2 hour postpartum into a car is a seriously bad idea.

    Not only is it uncomfortable, it could well be seriously dangerous. A friend had a massive bleed a couple of hours after her second birth. It was life threatening even though she was in hospital at the time.

    Good to hear all went well (not counting the earthquake thing).

    Canberra, Australia • Since Feb 2007 • 154 posts Report Reply

  • Marie,

    Midwives make the best toast and Vegemite in the world.

    Since Apr 2010 • 5 posts Report Reply

  • Lilith __,

    David, I'm so glad we got to read this. What lovely children you and Jennifer have. :-)

    Dunedin • Since Jul 2010 • 3895 posts Report Reply

  • ChrisW, in reply to Raymond A Francis,

    Fantastic, tear to the eye stuff
    But that Bob, he is going to go far

    Agreed in all respects.
    Bob has excellent literary judgement too. Unquestionably my favourite 'picture book' when I was first time round on such books was Mike Mulligan and his Steam Shovel, first published 1942, birth year of my oldest brother. A 1987 printing remains on the shelf ready to hand after great enjoyment by two daughters and their parents.

    David - I followed the link to refresh the extraordinary immediacy of your EQ story on the day - and note the footnote refers to Guardian publication on 22Feb2010, more than just the time-zone difference there.

    Gisborne • Since Apr 2009 • 851 posts Report Reply

  • Rob Stowell,

    Mike Mulligan was my first hero. Or was it the steam shovel? Now I'm not sure. Such a biiiiiig hole.
    Lovely stories. Workmates came over, suspicious. Nothing I could legitimately be doing would make me smile like that. Bravo.
    And "rats ate my hair" will now be my excuse. Forever, I fear, as hair seems to be migrating from the upper slopes.

    Whakaraupo • Since Nov 2006 • 2120 posts Report Reply

  • Lilith __,

    I must say I feel sorry for the David in the photo, blissfully unaware of the hard times about to hit. :-(

    Dunedin • Since Jul 2010 • 3895 posts Report Reply

  • Bart Janssen, in reply to Lilith __,

    I feel sorry for the David in the photo

    I think that's one of the fundamental paradoxes of time travel. It is one of the weird things about some photos - they become windows into an alternate reality - in this case the one where a lovely couple raise great kids in a quiet old house on the banks of the Avon. Somewhen that couple exists and those children lead utterly different lives.

    And on a random note the cushions on our couch are exactly the same purple material as on that couch. What fine taste David has.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 4461 posts Report Reply

  • David Haywood,

    In breaking news, Polly no longer resembles the photo. Today she managed to borrow Bob's scissors and give herself a haircut. She does not, I fear, show any natural talent for the hairdressing trade.

    Rob Stowell wrote:

    Lovely stories. Workmates came over, suspicious. Nothing I could legitimately be doing would make me smile like that. Bravo.

    Very pleased that it amused!

    Lilith and Bart Janssen wrote:

    I feel sorry for the David in the photo

    Yes, I felt rather that way myself when I reread this piece. At the time of that photo, we thought the worst was over and that Christchurch had just had a very narrow escape. How little we knew.

    Dunsandel • Since Nov 2006 • 1156 posts Report Reply

  • Deborah, in reply to David Haywood,

    Today she managed to borrow Bob’s scissors and give herself a haircut. She does not, I fear, show any natural talent for the hairdressing trade.

    In similar fashion, one of our daughters once found that shaving takes considerable skill.

    New Lynn • Since Nov 2006 • 1447 posts Report Reply

  • David Haywood,

    In other breaking news, I seem to have suddenly come down with a rather severe case of plantar fasciitis -- agony even to put on my sock, walking is virtually out of the question. Apparently traipsing around in hard shoes for numerous kilometres per day carrying an 18 kg two-year-old on my shoulders and her 10 kg pack of stuff can bring it on.

    Severe pain suddenly developed in about ten minutes while sitting down and posting yesterday's blog.

    Anyone ever had it? Can you suggest a rapid cure?

    Dunsandel • Since Nov 2006 • 1156 posts Report Reply

  • Bart Janssen, in reply to David Haywood,

    Can you suggest a rapid cure?

    Bugger. It's basically "merely" infamation. You can (and in the opinion of a plant molecular biologist :), you should) take anti-inflamatories, the trick with those is you need to maintain a steady dose over a few days even if the immediate pain goes away. Whichever anti-inflammatory you tolerate best, but plain old panadol is usually pretty good.

    It's almost impossible to ice but still probably worthwhile trying some ice packs to reduce swelling. You won't see any swelling but there will be swelling deep in the foot. You can massage the area above but again because of where the problem is massage won't help much, some but not much.

    You can and should elevate the foot as much as you can. And you, of course should rest it as much as you can. That said, some movement (without any weight on the joint or foot) will help move the fluid out as well.

    It's all about getting the extra fluid out of the location as fast as possible and all of those things will help. But typically it won't recover quickly. Odds are you don't have anything much actually damaged and long before you get the fluid out any damage will have healed. But the fluid and pressure will cause pain and can result in altered gait that can do more damage to knees etc.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 4461 posts Report Reply

  • David Haywood, in reply to Deborah,

    In similar fashion, one of our daughters once found that shaving takes considerable skill.

    Ouch!

    Dunsandel • Since Nov 2006 • 1156 posts Report Reply

  • David Haywood,

    Thanks, Bart -- much appreciated!

    Dunsandel • Since Nov 2006 • 1156 posts Report Reply

  • Carol Stewart, in reply to David Haywood,

    David - yes, I've had plantar fasciitis over the past year. It came on after stupidly forgetting my tramping boots so I had to do a 4 day trip in barely-adequate shoes. A mistake I paid for rather heavily.
    The classic symptoms are severe pain underneath your heel, and it tends to be worse after sitting down or lying down for a while. Murder first thing in the morning.
    My doctor recommended stretches, and rolling a frozen water bottle under the sole of your foot. I'm not convinced these made much difference. You can get insoles that take more weight on your instep and ease the weight on your heels. I got some in the USA that were sold specifically for this condition; I don't know how widely available they are here, sorry. They did make a difference in making walking more bearable.
    There is an intervention involving injections of anti-inflammatories into the affected area. My doctor was not very enthusiastic about this, and recommended giving it a chance to resolve naturally first. Happily to say, it is more or less resolved now, but it took a little over a year. I was much slower to diagnose it than you, which probably slowed the recovery quite a lot.
    Sorry not to be more cheering, and I really hope it resolves quickly for you.

    Wellington • Since Jul 2008 • 830 posts Report Reply

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