The Pox...or not.

Yesterday I took Isabelle to the doctor. She had a large number of "insect bites". As chicken pox seems to be doing the rounds here at the moment, we thought it needed to be checked out.

The doctor said "Looks like insect bites. Or it could be chicken pox". Not very enlightening really! Although he said that she did not need to be kept away from other children, I thought it best to skip Playcentre yesterday and today. This really is a pity, as today was the last day of term and the last day ever at Playcentre for one of Isabelle's friends. And then there's the Christmas party tomorrow, which we will also miss.

Anyway, the doctor recommended we get some anti-itch cream, and the pharmacist recommended an anti-itch bath (which both children love, as it is not only bubbly, but turns the water bright yellow). Anti-itch cream was duly applied yesterday. I haven't bothered putting it on her today as the spots seem less inflamed and (most importantly) she hasn't asked for any, and has hardly been itching. So, she either has chicken pox, insect bites, mysterious (viral?) rash...or a combination of two or three of these! If it is the big bad pox, it must be a very slight case. Time may tell, or more likely, we will never know.

So, in lieu of Playcentre, we took the bus to Oriental Parade for a morning at the beach. It was lovely and sunny here this morning, with only a slight wind. At the mention of going to the beach, Aidan enthusiastically asked "Jump off a hill of sand?". Unfortunately, I had to say that no, the beach we were to visit was not like the last one we were at in Christchurch with sand dunes. Oriental Parade has an urban beach, which has its own advantages. For a start, the bus takes us right to the sand's edge. An interesting array of vehicles are available for small children to watch, from planes from the nearby airport, through rescue helicopters taking off and landing from their base on the waterfront, to ferries, boats, and a variety of trucks.

We arrived just before 10.00. The beach was freshly groomed, with a few people just beginning to arrive. The exception to this was a man at the water's edge, surrounded by what looked like clothing carefully trying on a white boiler suit (complete with hood). My first thought was to check for a sign that said "Warning! Beach is contaminated!". My next was that maybe this was a piece of performance art. The sadder truth was revealed as it became apparent that he had either raided the nearest charity bin, or that he was in fact surrounded by all his worldly goods and was getting dressed after a night dossing down on the beach.

About fifteen minutes later, a City Council employee wandered over to him for a bit of a chat. I thought that maybe we were in for a piece of performance art after all, as, after a few minutes conversation, the man raised his arms towards the city and cried "God bless America! It's a Park Ranger!". However, it all ended peacefully, as (after further conversation) they shook hands and the "Park Ranger" carried on his way. No doubt he realised that this particular beach inhabitant was doing no harm and at least was packing up his plastic bags, beer bottles and clothes, and would move elsewhere in due course.

Meanwhile, the children paddled, dug, tried to make sandcastles out of unco-operative sand and ran up and down the beach. More people arrived, mainly parents with pre-schoolers. One lone man sunbathed, while two men splashed out into the water for a fast swim in the very cool sea. The photo shows Isabelle and Aidan just as we arrived (with boiler suit man off to the right!).

We took the 11.00 bus back, which gave us just enough time at the beach before the fighting started, and before Aidan realised that he really could run faster than his 32 week pregnant mother on dry sand.

We passed Playcentre on the bus just as the session ended. Rivulets of water ran down the Playcentre driveway - proof that today's session was probably very wet (and very messy), as could be expected on a sunny last day of term. I am sorry to have missed it, but I think the decision to stay away was the right one. It's going to be almost two months before term one 2007 starts. Even then it won't quite be the same - Rocky will be here so everything would have changed.

Like many things, sometimes you never really know when the "last time" will be.