Chapters

Life happens in chapters, each with it's own mini story, and for Mike, a slightly different regime to maintain control over his sugar levels. I'll explain what I mean; the chapter entitled, 'I Know It's A Wreck But Let's Buy It Anyway,' is a good example.

Romantic evenings in our first house were spent driving away the neighbours, as we hacked off damp plaster, tore down falling ceilings, replaced rotten floorboards and best of all, demolished the strongest, sturdiest, brick built, steel reinforced air raid shelter, you're ever likely to find. We were young (naive), adventurous (foolhardy), and very cold unless we were bashing something for the first three years. Mike ate a lot of chocolate, so did I for that matter.

The surveyor had pointed out when we bought the house that the best thing about it was the air raid shelter, but sadly it completely filled our tiny garden and had to go. Just because a Victorian house has been standing for over a hundred years does not guarantee that it will continue to do so for another ten, ours was crumbling, but we loved it. A trusty Collin's DIY manual is an underrated wedding present, and by the time we decided that, even without the air raid shelter, the garden just wasn't big enough, the house was good to stand for another hundred years.

The point of this tale is that this is where the hammer comes in. It is hard to spot a hypo when you are wearing protective goggles, covered in plaster dust and hundred year old grime, and busy. Often the first sign would be shouting, DIY can be extremely frustrating, but if this is followed by a flying screwdriver or an extra dent in the floor from a hefty thwack with a lump hammer, it's probably a good idea to stop and test. Of course, at this point, the damage is already done, and an extra repair can be added to the bottom of the ever growing job sheet, which is why, early on in this chapter, I learnt to respond to shouting by confiscating the hammer and any other tools within easy reach.

Having said that, Mikes control was pretty good throughout those years. It's the intangible factors that throw us, like stress, which together with lack of sleep, did make 'The Baby Years', an effective training period in multi-tasking!

Jane