Conjunctivitis and My Favourite Place in England

con-junc-ti-vit-is: (commonly called "Madras eye") is an acute inflammation of the conjuntiva (the outermost layer of the eye and the inner surface of the eyelids), most commonly due to an allergic reaction or an infection (usually viral, but sometimes bacterial). Thanks, wikipedia. Conjunctivitis is more commonly known as… Pink Eye.


On Tuesday morning, Youngest woke up with conjunctivitis. The Mum stayed home with him that day, but when his eyes were still quite red and puffy on Wednesday, I took charge of the little patient. Other than sore eyes, he was perfectly himself, so I took him to the local park… pretty much my favourite place in England. Instead of taking my usual running-route around the duck pond, Youngest and I explored some of the parks more hidden pathways. Youngest had a great time balancing on some fallen logs and pointing out feathers and flower petals that scattered the path. This time of year is just gorgeous! It's kind of like Vancouver in the spring; very large old trees are covered in green moss and everything is so colourful. 

Unfortunately, we did have to leave in order to pick up Youngest's prescription eye drops from the chemists (pharmacy). And even more unfortunately… I had to somehow get them in his eyes. The first eye was fine, but after he realized what was happening, he screamed and kicked! Even when I finally pried his hands away from his eyes, it was all I could do to get his second eye open wide enough to get a little drop in there! The next day, The Dad advised me to get Youngest to have a nap and administer his drops while he slept. So, we went to the park again on Thursday. I tried to tire him out by taking him on an extra-long walk and letting him play on the playground for a while. Then, we drove around for a bit (I hoped the car ride would put him out as usual… but no luck). So, I went home and put on a film in a dark room and cuddled him up in a blanket. Of course, 30 minutes later, he was bouncing up and down on the sofa. I even tried laying him down in his bedroom, but that just made him hysterically angry. So, I put him in the car again. The combination of the long walk, the overemotional crying, the car ride and some ardent prayers on my behalf FINALLY put him out. 


I had a pretty typical Friday, today. After getting the kids ready for school, I did some washing and ironing. I went for a run (trying, again, to go further… but I just ended up walking more). BUT I did get a lovely surprise in the mail: a lovely pair of red Birkenstocks that I bought on ebay! I am wearing them everywhere so I can break them in. I was planning on taking them for a test-walk down into the village… but the rain has returned. After a couple of weeks of sun and rising temperatures, the soft pitter-patter of rain kept me and my cork-bottomed sandals indoors. 

With all this rain, it's good thing I like reading! Right now, I am re-reading The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis. GREAT books. C.S. Lewis wrote this excellent series of fantasy novels to convey Christian ideas to a young audience. I had forgotten mostly everything about these books (except for, of course, The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe), so I am really enjoying them. I have just finished The Horse and His Boy— it was fantastic. If you have a spare rainy afternoon, I definitely recommend picking up a Narnia book for a nice escape! (source)