Phew!

So we survived, naturally. And it's another of those situations where I'm not that sure why I was so worried.
We scrubbed the house from top to bottom, although I did resist coaching Miss T and am very proud of myself for that.
It did feel like an impending inspection of parenthood rather than a routine check and opportunity to ask advice from a health professional, and if I'm honest, I feared my parenting skills were about to be found lacking.
That fear was not allayed when Miss T decided to spend the morning in a rare grumpy mood where nothing was right and there was much pouting and foot-stamping.
But the sun came out when the health visitor arrived (not literally, sadly - my hairy hound from hell, who had to be shut in the garden while she crossed the threshold before being brought in for a proper introduction, ended up all soggy and forlorn) and she amazed me with her confidence and inclination to be sociable.
The checks themselves were ridiculously easy for her and she demonstrated a range of things that weren't being checked, like imaginative play (making mummy be a dog and leading me round on the aforementioned hound's lead), language development (talking constantly!) and kindness (giving said hound a cuddle when she accidentally stood on his foot).
And as a result, the official verdict is "excellent communication and development" and "very sociable" with "no concerns".
I can't describe how proud that makes me, which is actually a strange feeling. Not for the obvious reasons, including the fact that our once non-existent bond is now so strong, but because it is coupled with a sort of dread of the future.
I'm desperate not to heap the kind of pressure on her to be perfect that I experienced but am already slipping into dangerous territory - who knows how I would have reacted if the conclusionss had not been so overwhelmingly positive today?
But as usual, the positive of this situation is that I'm aware of it and will try to keep myself in check. Because if I can't, god help us all when it's time for her GCSEs!

Time for plan b?

So I tried a relaxing dog walk yesterday, as I promised.
But it didn't quite go to plan. It all started well - Mark was home with Tasha and I escaped into the fresh air with just two hairy hounds for company. Well, actually there were three as we had a visiting dog too.
And for the first 10 minutes all was good - until my most challenging canine decided to have a senior (or senile!) moment. About half way along our regular walk I turned to check on him as he was trailing behind as usual and instead of seeing him sniffing a fence as he had been just two minutes earlier, I saw him racing into the distance in the direction we had just come from.
For whatever reason (and I think he became disorientated with all his sniffing, forgot which way we were going, looked up and panicked because I wasn't in front of him - not bothering to check whether I was behind!) he had decided his walk was over and he was on his way home.
So that was the end of the relaxing time and the start of a mad sprint after him, being tripped up by two other rather confused dogs who wanted to point out that we were nowhere near our usual turning point, and besides, couldn't I just throw their balls?!
Luckily I caught up with him just after he had reached the car and, realising I wasn't there, decided to head for home along the road instead. Bless...
So it's on to plan B - I'm trying to arrange a night out for Friday and I have several options to consider so one of them is sure to work out. And there will be no clueless canines in sight!
x