Friday, 7 October 2016

Playing Grown Ups and paying the price

Dear reader, you'll never guess what... I have been out! Oh yes, amongst babies colds and teething; amongst teaching and filing; amongst grading and marking; amongst dieting and surviving I have been to the theatre! Not just any old theatre as well, I went "up London" for a night watching the breath-taking Sir Patrick Stewart and Sir Ian McKellan in No-Mans land.

I put on make up! I got on a train! I ate dinner with a close, old friend! I got cultured for a night! And most importantly, I was alone! No child, no husband, no work, no worry to follow me on my journey. Just a book of interest and my thoughts to keep me company until I arrived.

No-man's land is a Pinter play which focuses on the evening and morning after two older gentlemen meet at The Bull's Head in Chalk Farm. It delves into the murkiness of Alzheimer's and destroys our preconceptions of life in old age. Beautifully acted (of course) by even the two lesser known adjoining actors to our big stars. The audience was abuzz with laughter and sorrow.

Child was lovingly palmed off onto Granny and Grumpa for the night, so coming home after dark to an empty house was a completely bizarre experience. I even naturally went in to check on him before heading to bed myself, only to realise with a mixed heart of longing and relief, that he wasn't there. After a blissful night of deep sleep, he made up for his absence since by teething all night with the most horrific cold and only settling if suspended upright - using my face as the scaffold to his tiny body - writhing every few minutes in helpless pain and anxiety at his situation. My heart bled for him all night as I sat up and cradled him - tiny and limp yet whimpering - trying desperately to fix a problem I couldn't control; but I feel my kids at work probably paid the price for the approx 3.5 hours sleep I got as a result of his tossing and turning.

So now, I sit at the end of a another week, a little closer to half term and the prospect of day time naps, wishing myself in to a bed of softness and bliss and yet, I am expected to be a grown up again this evening and head out to a local for birthday drinks... The price we pay for having it all I guess. Only a few hours til bedtime... right?!

1 comment:

  1. Your writing is excellent MrsD, just read all your blog posts.

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