Healings... nothing more than healings...

Life has funny ways about her. Last week, Isabelle was visiting Opa and Oma in Leiden, and they all went to the children's farm, where there was a little goat with a bandaged leg. This really fired my daughter's imagination. Especially since Tante Lette (Laurette) also has ' au!' in her legs. For days on end, she'd tell me stories of bandaged bears, dolls, rabbits, people, describing various types of 'au!'s, such a variety in fact that a ten-volume medical encyclopedia would have blushed if told (if only we had time, the books that we would write...).

Picking up on my baby's subtle signs (what a good mother I am), I started planning the great 'doctor's case' surprise, which for complicated reasons I shall not go into took me many days to complete.

By which time, I'd strained my knee while running on the beach, which was perfect of course, as I could present her with a real-life patient to practice her doctoring skills on. You can see for yourself that we have a new Dr. in the making in the family. Just a few more years...

First we listen to see whether it's ill

Then we put the stethoscope back in the box (please take a moment to admire hand-made red-cross sticker!)

Checking the temperature with the ear-thermometer...

... this is very important: cutting up the bandage (equally important, though unfortunately not on the photograph, is the cutting of the patient's nails with the scissors prior to application of bandage).

With this kind of treatment, I should be on my feet in no time!