I’m not renowned for my cool, calm and collective nature so last week when I received a phone call from my vet telling me that my cat had suspected Leptospirosis and that it can be passed on to humans, it was no surprise that I almost lost the last bit of rationality I actually possess and erupted.
I was ready to pack up my bags and ship us and our animals back to the UK – all before the sun went down.
I rushed with Ella (my daughter) and Chas (my husband) to the hospital just in case. Luckily Chas is used to my completely irrational behaviour and lets me do what I need to do. He sat with Ella waiting patiently while I paced around the waiting area.
I’ve spent much of my adult life making rash decisions about other people and while I’m more than happy to change my opinion, I can’t help but judge on first impressions. Then suddenly I realised what impression I was giving other people with my bird’s nest-like hairstyle, incoherent mumblings and the tutting. In my mind, I couldn’t believe we were being kept waiting when we could all be suffering from a potentially life threatening illness. In reality, I was just a neurotic mother who was completely over-reacting.
I’ve always thought that I am generally quite normal and well-balanced – give or take the odd temper tantrum and usual worries of life. However, while at the hospital I realised that this balance I credit myself with having could in fact be a figment of my imagination and perhaps I am actually a human volcano prone to periodic violent eruptions.
Needless to say, we saw the doctor and everything was fine. The chance of us contracting the illness was extremely slim and treatment, if required, was a simple affair. The doctor’s reassurance calmed me instantly and I slipped out of the hospital as if the eruption had never happened. In that instant, I saw myself as other people were seeing me and I’m surprised no one called the men in white coats. I had a ‘moment’ which I like to put down to the fact of having too much coffee – caffeine was clearly to blame!
Realistically, coffee had nothing to do with it and perhaps it’s time I embrace my idiosyncrasies and enjoy the fact that life would simply be boring if everyone was ‘normal’.