A child having a lie-in should be cause for celebration. So why do we instead start panicking that there’s something seriously wrong, and preparing ourselves for a trip to A&E?
The above image?
This just happened.
For the first two hours with the other two kids downstairs, I thought: this is nice; a different dynamic.
Then I remembered the middle one bumped his head two days ago.
So I google ‘concussion’, which is so often searched for on my phone it’s basically bookmarked.
And discover ‘sleepiness’ is a symptom.
Except I know this already, because I’ve googled it many times before.
Instead of showering, I sit next to the sleeping child, gently saying his name.
He doesn’t stir.
I’m about to pull up his eyelids to check his pupils.
Then he opens his eyes, smiles and says: I was just talking to myself about animals.
Jumps into my arms.
Asks to get dressed.
Tracksuit bottoms pulled up to his knees to show off his space rocket socks.
We go downstairs.
The day begins.
Again.
No concussion.
Just a lie-in.