Caring

Kieron looks after people: whenever I'm ill, Kieron always asks what he can do to help me to feel better, and that in itself does make me feel less ill.
When his sister had severe trigeminal nerve pain following a filling that was put into the nerve by an idiot of a dentist,Kieron was there for her. He sat on the chair in her bedroom and watched over her and tried to help her while I went out to get her oramorph from our local hospital. She was crying with the pain and still he sat there, totally unfazed by her howls and offered her love and smiles.
When my mum was completely incapacitated by Alzheimer's disease, he visited her in the residential home I had had to place her in and spoke to her as if she was 'normal'. He struggled to understand her illness, but it wasn't until I explained that it was as if her brain was like the hard drive on his Xbox and had crashed, that he was able to grasp the idea of the disease.
Even as a 3 year old, at my parents' home when my dad was still alive, he helped his grandad to carry shopping as he knew my dad had a withered leg and couldn't carry much due to his balance.
If Callum is unwell, Kieron always offers to stay home from school to look after him, although I'm fairly sure that there is an ulterior motive going on with this one.
My aunt, aged 83 at the time, had been to my house one sunday afternoon. As she and my cousin left, my aunt lost her balance on the pavement outside my house and fell, breaking her hip. Kieron to the rescue yet again, bringing out his duvet in his favourite shark cover, to wrap round her as she lay on the pavement waiting for an ambulance.
Illnesses are always punctuated by get well pictures placed near the sleeping invalids and even if I'm not ill, but having a sneaky afternoon nap on the settee, I usually wake up to find gentle hands covering me with a throw to keep me warm, followed by a soft kiss on the cheek or forehead. It's so hard to pretend to be asleep still so that Kieron can tiptoe out of the room, firmly believing that he hasn't disturbed me.
So when my daughter's boyfriend's grandfather was rushed into hospital yesterday, with just a few hours life expectancy left,I told Kieron that he was soon going to have someone else to look after. In my head popped Kieron's voice saying 'well he's sort of another grandad anyway as Mike's like my brother'. Only Kieron can see it quite like that.

Fashion victim

Kieron is a bit of a tart when it comes to clothes. If Callum's got it, then Kieron generally wants it although when choosing clothes he sometimes gets it wrong.
T shirts generally have to have slogans that identify Kieron as a gamer supreme or hint at a little naughtiness. If they're plain, then they must at least have a sports logo. Not just any logo though, they have to be Nike or similar. Ellesse is girlie (for this, read gay) and asics must never be worn as they're a little bit 'skanky'.
Posing is a 'must', whether Kieron is in jeans and hoodie or messing about dressing up as a Tunisian or a pirate. Draped over a chair or balancing precariously on the stairs, Kieron becomes a catwalk model.

Jeans have to be halfway down his butt, although when Kieron was small I would buy jeans with a fake waistband that looked like the top of a pair of boxers. Joggers have to either look like Callum's ones or be his old ones, frequently worn when Kieron was still too small for them, but hey, they were his big brothers and therefore special. Nothing can be worn around his waist as he doesn't like the feel of tightness, so saggy jeans and joggers are a fashion plus for him.
Socks must be black for school or white for trainers, always odd and pulled up properly. Pants must be boxers, although Kieron has such skinny legs that they always flap around the tops of his legs.
Pyjamas are not to be worn except on sleepovers, although dressing gowns are ok as the hoods are perfect for drying his hair in after a bath.
Trainers should have laces rather than velcro because 'that's for little kids', so Kieron knots them, over and over again then expects me to untangle them.
A couple of years ago, Kieron and I went to the sales with his big sister. Not content with trying on clothes in Next, he then demanded to go into the toilets in M&S to change into his new top. He came prancing out of the toilet, all smiles and requests for compliments on how cool he looked.
On Callum's 14th birthday, he got a new shirt....blue with skater-type patterns on it. The very next day I had to go and get Kieron one too.
Yesterday, I went to the sales with Kieron's big sister. We went into Next and M&S and all I could see was that little face smilimg and asking me if he looked good. Kieron has always had the ability to turn everything into a memory. A 'do you remember when' moment. Just as well really.

Post Holiday Blues

So, back from my holiday and I've realised how little washing and unpacking there is to do.
In happier times. there would be sandy trunks and treasures from the beach....when I first took Kieron to Tunisia, we were horrified at all the camel poo on the beach, until I realised that it was a rather strange seaweed that looks exactly like poo and Kieron and I had poo fights on the beach, stashing some in a carrier bag to bring home. Kieron had a camel ride on the beach, led along by his older brother. He sat tall and proud on the back of his latest favourite animal, talking to his new friend and grinning with delight.

Clothes crusty with salt and sticky with ice cream. An outfit identical to a traditional Tunisian one, of which I sadly don't have a photo, was a particular favourite and was used for a dressing up day at school. Camel mugs and assorted bits of valuable rubbish, cluttering up the luggage and needing to be found pride of place in Kieron's room. Singing and dancing cuddly camels and dried out scorpions, snakes and beetles.
Piles of washing and ironing waiting to be done as soon as possible and chatter about our adventures together. A smattering of Arabic to show off with...shokran, min fadlek, asslema. A little boy intent on allowing the world to discover him, rather than the other way round.
Today the unpacking is finished, the washing done and put away. A house of memories of other holidays when Kieron could be invincible and always here. Tales to tell back at school and treasure to take in to show his friends. Now...emptiness.

Travelling

I'm going to Cyprus on Saturday for a week and instead of bouncing about with excitement all I notice is the stuff I won't be packing.
April 2009 I took all the kids away for our first family holiday. We went to Tunisia and Kieron was more excited about seeing camels than anything else. Shopping for clothes became part of the overall thrill, with Kieron needing new trunks, t shirts and shorts, as well as colouring books and pens for on the plane and a couple of carefully chosen Nintendo DS games.
Lists were everywhere, with sun block, Dioralite, Imodium, Calpol, plasters and antiseptic sprays taking precedence. Kieron was in charge of his backpack with the necessary plane supplies, as well as tugging along a small suitcase and tripping everyone up.
Leaving home in the early hours of the morning, whispering so that we didn't wake the neighbours and driving to Gatwick. Kieron getting bored and tired of queuing to check in, irritating his brother with his silliness. Jade's boyfriend taking Kieron off to the toilets in case he got lost and sharing car magazines with both boys. Spending a fortune on sweets in departures and trying to keep Kieron occupied or encouraging him to go to sleep so that we could have 5 minutes peace.
Getting on the plane and watching Kieron's face as the plane took off and stopping him and Callum squabbling out of boredom. Seeing Tunisia for the first time and looking forward to giving my kids a great holiday, was all I wanted for them, even though I was worn out by the time we arrived.
It sounds too stressful to be enjoyable but how I wish I was packing Calpol, computer games and colouring books this time.