My first words here are in the form of advice: slow down! And watch a youtube clip on on how to keep a baby/child/adult from choking. Seriously. It'll take you a handful of minutes and you may save a life.
It is a bitter cold morning. In the negatives (so, well below -18C). There is a momentary showing of sunshine and the cheepers take that as a good omen. They are so wrong.
And now they're stuck in the garage and there is more snow on the way and the temperatures refuse to climb more than a wimpy couple of degrees. It's that kind of a morning.
Ed is sleeping in. I am a little bit in a hurry because Snowdrop is under the weather and I promised to spend time with her at her home this afternoon.
That doesn't justify a rushed breakfast, but the head doesn't always work out the finer details of life well before that first morning cup of coffee.
So at breakfast, I choke. Ed is adept at Heimlich maneuvers and so I am back to normal quickly enough.
Seriously, Nina! On oatmeal? -- he shakes his head in amazement.
It was a strawberry! -- I answer in my defense. And it isn't the first time that I have choked on fruit. I am a notoriously fast eater. That seems so antithetical to someone who loves to savor well prepared food, but there you have it, the truth's out. I eat like the devil.
Of course, if I can wedge a strawberry (or apple bite -- another favorite offending object), so can you and so can your kid. So watch a video on how to help when someone near you is gasping. Different ages require different strategies: watch them all. I'd say take a CPR course, but you wont, so at least watch how others do it. Still reluctant? Let me suggest this five minute one on helping kids who eat too fast or stuff their mouths with legos:
For adults -- lear the Heimlich. It's easy and effective: above the bellybutton, with upward thrusts.
And now the clouds roll in. Ed is back in bed, I'm settling down to write.
In the afternoon, I am as promised at Snowdrop's house.
I smile as I remember her grand claim that she prefers plain to fancy! You could have fooled me, little one!
She is feverish this morning, but by the time I get there, she appears on the mend. Good books, quiet play and a solid nap fill the hours quickly.
We cross our fingers that nothing more serious will come of this.
As I walk up to the farmhouse, I notice two things: no footprints in the snow (therefore Ed has not left the house all day) and, too, it's not really dark yet. Yes, it's bitter cold, but just that show of evening light is so uplifting!
I shovel a few of our paths, then come in to savor the wonderfulness of a warm house on a cold cold day.
It is a bitter cold morning. In the negatives (so, well below -18C). There is a momentary showing of sunshine and the cheepers take that as a good omen. They are so wrong.
And now they're stuck in the garage and there is more snow on the way and the temperatures refuse to climb more than a wimpy couple of degrees. It's that kind of a morning.
Ed is sleeping in. I am a little bit in a hurry because Snowdrop is under the weather and I promised to spend time with her at her home this afternoon.
That doesn't justify a rushed breakfast, but the head doesn't always work out the finer details of life well before that first morning cup of coffee.
So at breakfast, I choke. Ed is adept at Heimlich maneuvers and so I am back to normal quickly enough.
Seriously, Nina! On oatmeal? -- he shakes his head in amazement.
It was a strawberry! -- I answer in my defense. And it isn't the first time that I have choked on fruit. I am a notoriously fast eater. That seems so antithetical to someone who loves to savor well prepared food, but there you have it, the truth's out. I eat like the devil.
Of course, if I can wedge a strawberry (or apple bite -- another favorite offending object), so can you and so can your kid. So watch a video on how to help when someone near you is gasping. Different ages require different strategies: watch them all. I'd say take a CPR course, but you wont, so at least watch how others do it. Still reluctant? Let me suggest this five minute one on helping kids who eat too fast or stuff their mouths with legos:
For adults -- lear the Heimlich. It's easy and effective: above the bellybutton, with upward thrusts.
And now the clouds roll in. Ed is back in bed, I'm settling down to write.
In the afternoon, I am as promised at Snowdrop's house.
I smile as I remember her grand claim that she prefers plain to fancy! You could have fooled me, little one!
She is feverish this morning, but by the time I get there, she appears on the mend. Good books, quiet play and a solid nap fill the hours quickly.
We cross our fingers that nothing more serious will come of this.
As I walk up to the farmhouse, I notice two things: no footprints in the snow (therefore Ed has not left the house all day) and, too, it's not really dark yet. Yes, it's bitter cold, but just that show of evening light is so uplifting!
I shovel a few of our paths, then come in to savor the wonderfulness of a warm house on a cold cold day.
