Not According to Plan

Friday Sebastian came home from school with a bit of a headache. I gave him some ibuprofen, we wrapped a present and signed a card for the birthday party he was supposed to be at by 4:30. At 4:05 I got a phone call informing me that we had a problem at work that needed my immediate and undivided attention. I tried to call my husband for help. His mobile phone went straight to answer phone. I focused on the problem and managed to get a temporary resolution implemented by 4:50. I jumped in the car with a very upset little boy and we headed off towards Windsor. What is normally a 10 minute journey turned into a 25 minute journey due to really bad traffic caused by The Royal Windsor Horse Show (more about that later). I managed to drop him off with tears flowing down his (and my) cheeks. One of the mums sensed the panic of the situation and generously offered to take Sebastian home with her after the party so I could focus on work. (HUGE THANKS to Joy! What would I do without you?)

I returned home feeling like a failure at both work and home. At home I focused on the problem with work and until we definitely had a solution in place. Marc went and picked up Sebastian about 7:00. He now seemed to be running a low grade temperature but it wasn't bothering him. Off he went to bed.

Yesterday was The Royal Windsor Horse Show. This horse show is the premier equestrian event in the UK (maybe even Europe). It is set in the grounds of Windsor Castle (bascially the Queen's yard). It started on Thursday and we had tickets for Saturday. Sebastian had really been looking forward to this and he wanted to go no matter what. There had been lots of rain overnight and some in the morning but when we left the house and arrived at the Home Park the sky was blue and the sun was shining. Marc asked if I thought we needed the umbrellas. I declined saying I didn't want to carry them around. This, of course, meant it was going to rain.

We watched some jumping. Seb was absolutely transfixed. I've never quite seen him watch with such concentration. He was awed and fascinated. I think he appreciates how difficult it is to get man and beast to work togethr with such grace. We walked around for all of 20 minutes and then the rain started to fall. We ran for the Food & Wine tent until the rain passed (max 5 minutes). We did some more shopping with me admiring all the beautiful tack and saddles. Sebastian and Abigail picked out some gorgeous Lazy Jack riding shirts. We stopped for lunch. And just as we sat down, the rain started again. Marc ate sitting in the rain. I moved the children under an awning, sharing a seat. Sebastian wasn't hungry he said and wouldn't eat. Abigail ate her chunky chips (french fries). I ate my lunch standing up. Sebastian fell asleep in his chair. The rain stopped. We were wet and muddy.....very muddy!

We moved to the grandstand (which was thankfully covered) but full. We waited a while and found one seat. I sat down with Seb on my lap who promptly fell asleep despite his best attempts at staying awake to watch the jumping. Marc and Abigail decided to go walk around (she wasn't all that interested in the jumping and kept walking up and down the stairs). Seb and I finally got 2 seats next to each other. I sat down. He sat down. He feel into my lap and fell asleep. For 40 glorious minutes I watched some of the best show jumping I've ever seen. The riders were very aggressive and competitive. The horses were graceful, responsive and well trained. It was nothing short of poetry in motion. But people kept coming down our aisle which meant I had to keep waking up Seb to stand up and let them pass. Finally, Marc & Abigail returned and we decided that we should really just throw in the towel for the day and take this sick little boy home. I was gutted. Seb was gutted. We had been looking forward to that day for weeks. It is an all day event and we got stay about 3 hours! Seb was upset! We didn't even get to watch any carriage events. Dang!

We got home and he feel fast asleep for about 6 hours. Upon waking he went right to bed. After sleeping for another couple hours he vomited. Better out than in, I say! We cleaned up that mess and changed the sheets and his pjs, brushed his teeth and tucked him back into bed.

This morning he seems better and has managed to keep his breakfast down. At his insistence, Marc has taken him to his riding lesson. He is changing ponies this morning, from Manny to Penny. Penny is a bit bigger and has a smoother gait which should make his trotting a bit easier. He's been excited all week. Hope he doesn't vomit all over Penny.

I'm a bit afraid to make any plans for the day. Maybe I'll just take it as it comes!