Family Time

Andrew said he’d come home yesterday, so I went out and killed the fatted calf as usual. He suggested the family come over for a roast dinner. ‘That’ll be nice,’ I thought, anticipating that someone else would do the prep and the cooking.

Disappointingly, the Kenilworth Originals couldn’t come – Freddie has chicken pox and was still infectious. He was at the sore throat stage and not feeling his normal cheery self, snuggling up on the sofa, wrapped up in a blanket, waiting to feel better.

I wondered if there was anything we could send over to cheer him up. Lucozade? A comic perhaps? Yes, Harriet thought that would be nice, so I popped over at lunchtime, bearing gifts. Bless him, he was thrilled with the comics and a book of maze puzzles, plus his Lucozade.

The Kenilworth Newbies were available to come for a roast however, so plans were afoot to get things ready for about five o’clock. I didn’t rush away from Paul and Harriet’s though, staying for a cuppa and chatting to Paul for about an hour, which was lovely. I looked at the time. It was 2.20 – probably time to go to help Andrew with the cooking I thought, so I said my goodbyes and set off home.

I hadn’t been driving long when the phone went. It was Andrew. “I can’t talk now,” I said, “I’m driving!” “No worries,” he replied, “I’ll call you back, but just to let you know that I can’t find my car keys so I might not come home.” Whaaaaat? Still in Cambridge? And what about the fatted calf?

Two minutes later, a text came in. ‘I’ve found them!’ Well, that was good news. But, of course, I’d been hoping that Andrew would cook the roast….. it didn’t look like he’d be back in time to cook, but just arrive in time to sit down for the meal.

Fortunately, Michael came to the rescue. No sooner did he hear that Andrew was delayed than he set to and started prepping the veg. I put the joint in the oven, made the Yorkshire Puddings and an apple crumble, and then beat a hasty retreat to have a rest in the lounge.

John, meanwhile, had been entertaining the children and had switched from the Six Nations rugby match to Cbeebies. I swapped with him and entertained the children instead.

Andrew arrived home about 4.15 and conferred with Michael about the ‘cuisson’ of the joint. They agreed it needed a bit longer, so a bottle of wine was opened while they waited.

In the end, we sat down to eat about 5.30 (not too bad…) and enjoyed a delicious Roast Beef and Yorkshire Pudding dinner. We vowed to cook the same meal again when the Kenilworth Sleaths could join us, too. We do love our family time.

Today was a different day altogether. I was up early to answer the door to the roofer who was tidying up the last few tiles, and then I walked down to surgery for a blood test. John got himself up mid-morning and got ready to go to his follow-on exercise class at Tudor Grange Sports Centre in Solihull. Andrew slept on until mid-afternoon. So far, so good.

Our day was rocked, however, at lunchtime, when we received a message from Christiana telling us that her stepfather, Terry, had been rushed to hospital and it wasn’t looking good. We then received another message a couple of hours later to tell us that he had passed away. Oh my life! What a shock. Although Terry had been unwell for several years with one thing and another, this came out of the blue. Naturally, our thoughts are with Gloria, Christiana and Terry’s family, praying that they find the strength to deal with whatever comes at them now.

Yes, family time – even more acutely aware of how important it is today.

Take care everyone. God bless.