Diagnosis: Excema

TARA (a week ago): Hello, you tasty penguin that my friend Tilly gave me! You look a right old sweetie! I'll have a bite or two of you, and then I'm going to eat you all up when we come back home from our Christmas holiday, yum yum, and I'm looking forward to it, HA HA!


And then the following happened: Over night those awful dark bags under her eyes, along with the red patches on her eyes, and - let's admit it - the torn dry skin under Tara's left ear that mummy thought nothing of, turned all very red and itchy and flaky and looked, well, awful, and, well, just like excema.
Which in a way was a nice thing cause I had already considered all sorts of horrible diseases that could be behind dark eye bags and permanent tiredness (poor kid rubbing her eyes all the time) that... but let's not go into that, it's slightly embarrassing.
So, Tara got taken to the local German pediatrician, who referred to Tara as 'THIS CHILD', had his diagnosis ready in seconds, gave us a swift lesson in genetics (mother's got a skin condition, look, chil's got it off her, thanks), then still ranted on about the rip-off idiocy of alternative medicine and homeopathy for an additional ten minutes, lectured THIS CHILD'S mother about sugar and sweets in a child's diet (she had a selection of RICE CAKES, BREAD STICKS and organic health biscuits sweetened with apple juice, for God's sake!), banned sweets, and finally prescribed steroids and ushered us out with a Merry Christmas.
Now I know why I had ab-so-lute-ly no memory of the man, who happens to have been my own doctor until only just 17 years ago. It now makes perfect sense that my only memory was of running from the man from one corner of a small room to the next when due an injection.
I did have fond memories of the waiting room, where there are still the exact same toys as 20 years ago. Tara did like them very much too, though somehow I don't think she'll be given a chance to grow fond memories of the set-up as long as there is another doctor in town.


I did, however, put an order in with Santa for the nicest dolly I think he could afford! And bought Tara a nice puzzle pull along toy to make up for the bad genetic material that's MY fault.

I will have to eat that penguin all by myself.
What can I say. I'm very sad for it.

A Eulogy To Chocolate (in three pictures)

Which door can we open today, mummy?

Great choice! I'll have... em... THIS one!

My! Mummy! This is such a tasty one! The best of all*!
(* All the ONE that you'd left me)

Mummy: *sniffle* (And yesIknow it's not life threatening!)