lists

I love a good list.

They are calming, reassuring things. And they work as a diary of sorts. I can look back to June and July 2007 and see my relationship with Brian begin, sandwiched between reminders to buy broccoli and a photoshoot next Thursday.

Here are some of my latest, which I run through in the shower like crazy-lady mantras :

Things To Entertain Children on a Hospital Bed for 2 Hours
– Make a tent with your sheets and the bedside table
– Encourage them to clean things with disposable nurses gloves and hand gel
– Go on endless trips to the water fountain
– Let Max raise the bed up and down and up and down
– Watch a movie with one of them under each arm and a hand of each of theirs on your belly

Some Less Than Productive Things I’ve Done in Hospital
– Looked at my toes and thought about how to remove 3 month old Schellac. The solution took a surprising 3 weeks to arrive at
– Cut one side of my hair and then got very tired and took a break for a day
– Read every Guardian Blind Date ever published
– Walked the ground floor corridor, the first floor corridor, the second floor corridor and then did it all again. Daily.
– Read the hospital breast feeding policy. Daily.
– Watched: 3 seasons of Game of Thrones, 2 seasons of The Good Wife, 2 seasons of One Mississippi, 1 season of Ozark, 1 season of Fleabag, many episodes of something about The Shelbourne hotel, 3 seasons of Black Mirror, 1 season and counting of My Crazy Ex Girlfriend, plus countless movies and spent a depressing amount of time trying to get BBC iplayer to work
– Scrolled facebook, scrolled facebook, scrolled facebook, scrolled facebook, scrolled facebook, scrolled facebook, scrolled facebook, scrolled facebook, scrolled facebook

Things I Like About Being in Hospital
– Breakfast in bed
– Discovering the kindness of strangers
– Discovering the kindness of people you love
– Being able to take epic showers. Nothing else really happens between doctors rounds and soup at 11:30
– Remember how good my husband smells and what a big ride he is when I haven’t seen him for 2 weeks
– Seeing my children with fresh eyes. My chat with Martha about her eyebrows on Sunday as she did a poo was just delicious and Max’s working out of how the bin in the bathroom and the levers on the bed work made me unnaturally proud.

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