Darker

Being a nurse is exhausting. Bed last night at 1.30 and awake at 5am - unable to sleep any more due, I suppose to the unusualness of the kids being in another house. MrB slept until 10ish on a cocktail of drink and drugs that had me in there checking for breathing...

Today was always set to be busy: more so with only one driver.

- shopping for an ankle brace and painkillers - and the pharmacist felt sorry for us and threw in a set of free rental crutches too. Some bread, cheese and cabbage was purchased too - to heal the soul if not the ankle.

- after lunch, CarbBoy to basketball tournament, then home for me lest the lack of organisation sent me crazy with rage.

- back to basketball to watch the last three matches and witness a basket by CarbBoy that made all the crowd go 'ooh' in stunned admiration.

- quick dash home to collect TallGirl for riding.

- back to basketball, crossing fingers that CarbBoy hadn't eaten anything he is allergic to or been left standing alone in the rain. (Neither.)

- home to re-ice MrB's ankle.

- collect TallGirl from riding. Including watching some terrifyingly fast and high indoor jumping. Realised, with some shock, that TallGirl is now a really good rider.

- sling a bunch of chicken, chorizo, garlic, onion and spinach in the oven and call it dinner (though no time for me to eat any).

- back in the car to take CarbBoy to basketball for the big annual presentation of teams (to make the sponsors love us and write a big cheque).

- saw men's second team win convincingly, despite one player doing a Mr B in dramatic, screaming, spinning on the floor, ligament tearing detail. Sighed deeply when I learned that the team photo thing was postponed until half time in the first team match. Sighed with relief when our lovely near neighbours told me to go home and leave CarbBoy with them. My stomach told me it was the right decision...

- dinner, telly, start panicking about CarbBoy not being home.

- continue worrying that he's been abandonned and is all alone.

- pace endlessly looking for car headlights. - rejoice on seeing headlights.... crushing disappointment that it's another family...

- phone lovely near neighbour - they're on their way. When they arrive they look as depressed as I would have felt about losing my whole evening to a two hours' late ceremony.

- story for CarbBoy, wine, sofa, telly and chocolate for me. And a bedtime too late (1am) for someone who was up at 5am.

Long day.

But at least all the 'fluids' I had to deal with are sort of related to me. And MrB can now hobble to the loo on his crutches. So things are looking up for this nurse.

The photo is the innards of the controller for our most powerful standard lamp - taken in the hope that my Dad can tell me how to fix / by-pass it. Not much time for photos today...