Chickenpox Diaries.

So, me and Ava are officially in isolation. Why? Because chickenpox has decided to make an appearance in our lives. Brilliant.

I won’t lie—day one I thought, oh this will be fine, a bit of extra time at home, we’ll watch movies, eat snacks, cuddle on the sofa. By day two I realised: nope. We are both bored out of our minds. Ava is itchy, grumpy, and demanding I come up with new games every ten minutes, and I’m sat here wondering how many Disney films one person can take before losing their sanity.

The thing is, isolation is weird when you’ve got a little one. You’re trying to keep them happy, distracted, and comfortable, while also climbing the walls yourself. We’ve baked (badly), coloured in half a dozen unicorns, built a fort that lasted approximately seven minutes before collapsing, and gone through every snack in the cupboard already. But in between the chaos and the boredom, there are these little moments that almost make me glad we’re stuck at home. Ava curling up next to me with Calpol breath, whispering “thank you mam.” Her giggles when I scratch her back just right. The way she looks at me like I’m her whole safe world.

So yeah, chickenpox sucks, and I’d sell my soul for a Costa right now. But if isolation has taught me anything so far, it’s that even in the boring, itchy, restless days, I get to make memories with my little girl. And that part? I’ll take.