Fab Fathers, Giggling Girls & Irksome Illness

Willkommen again to the weekly entertainment and information session that is Everything’s Famtastic.

I thought that this week I would give a shout out to all the German Papas out there. A couple of weeks back, I wrote about Mother’s Day, with a big, warm virtual hug for all you Mamas.

But now it is the men’s turn. Or at least those who live in Germany (Sorry to you Australian, American, Canadian, English… dads). Father’s Day was celebrated in Germany this past week. On a Thursday, no less. And Father’s Day- or Men’s Day as the non-parent males would claim- is an entirely different thing to most other countries’ way of celebrating fathers. So, Alles Gute zum Vatertag to all those fathers out there doing their best for their kids! I hope that your children thank you and appreciate all you do! To Hubby: we love you very much and thank you for all you do for us!! xx

Allow me to fill you in though, about our week of things (including Father’s day) going not quite to plan. Aha! Also the perfect opportunity for us mamas to show just how tolerant, unshakeable and adaptable we can be. Maintain a positive attitude and all that, right?!?

Moneymaker Recap

Last week ended on a high note. After me posting about selling your unwanted possessions we ourselves did go to a local Flea Market last Sunday with a car filled to the brim with Duplo, books, Barbies, Playmobil and children’s clothes. We were completely clueless as to how much we might sell, given that the markets were pretty small. In the end we didn’t sell any of our big stuff, like a huge Duplo train set we would have liked at least 50€ for. Having looked around, the other vendors also were loaded with small, inexpensive toys, books and clothes too. But in the end we did make quite a bit of money just selling off piles and piles of clothes, books, DVDs, games and knick-knacks at bargain prices. These were the types of things you would never bother to list online. And now we have a lot of the big, more expensive items leftover that should sell really well online. See? It’s still a win! All good 😊.

Fun, Games & Gastro

Since then though, this week has been a bit of a rollercoaster. And I do mean that almost literally. What, with all the suspense, surprises, and yes, gagging and even vomiting. ☹

There were 2 people in this household who had been getting more and more excited as this week drew near: Hubby and our younger daughter. Because this week we were celebrating both Father’s Day and Miss 7’s 8th birthday. In fact, Little Miss had been counting down to her special day since long before my own special day at the start of the month!

Unfortunately, there was a little tension in the house about these 2 special occasions, because this year both Father’s Day and our daughter’s birthday fell on the SAME day. No little girl wants to split the attention on her own birthday. I know this myself, given that my own birthday has fallen on Mother’s Day more than a few times too. Even as a mother myself now, I feel completely ripped off when my birthday happens to fall on that 2^nd Sunday in May 😉.

Regardless of how whether anyone wanted to share their special day, the week hit a quick low at the precise time on Monday when I received a phone call from Kindergarten telling me to pick up Master 5 as he had just violently barfed out in their playground. Oh dear. Poor boy. (And poor staff at Kindy). From what I had heard, there was currently some gastro-type virus doing the rounds. And this time it found my boy. After some reshuffling of work commitments by Hubby, we both managed to cover the in-home childcare over the next 2 days of Master 5’s “quarantine”. Thankfully he was back to his usual inquisitive, energetic self within a day or so. Huzzah!

Right, illness is over and done with. Wasn’t too nasty in the end. Good news! Onto the real highlights of the week- one 8th birthday and one Father’s Day.

Miss now-8 woke up grinning from ear to ear knowing her birthday held some great surprises. And most likely great cake was in store too 😉. Our children tend to insist that their birthday presents get hidden for them to find. Like some sort of confined space Easter egg hunt. Complete with lots of hyper excited guidance from the siblings of “warmer… warmer… hot! hot! hot! You nearly found it!!”. Once the floor was strewn with ripped wrapping paper and micro-tiny pieces of the Schleich horses set she had wished for, she settled in for some serious playing. Happy Birthday gorgeous girl!! One very satisfied customer. Great, right? High point of the week!

Father’s Day: The German Way (Sort of)

And now for the other event of the day… Do you already know what a German Father’s Day is like? I know that as a kid Father’s Day in my house in Australia usually entailed: Dad sleeping in, then being served the weekend newspaper and breakfast in bed; presents like socks, books or power tools; Dad spending the day pottering around the garage or relaxing and reading the new books; maybe some nice cake for afternoon tea with us kids; the day ending in a grand BBQ.

Father’s Day in Germany is actually celebrated on the religious holiday of the Feast of the Ascension (Christi Himmelfahrt) This means that the date changes from year to year in relation to Easter (which in turn means our daughter can breathe a sigh of relief that she doesn’t have to share her birthday every year) but always falls on a Thursday. This is all a bit weird for me, coming from Australia where Father’s Day is celebrated every year on the first Sunday in September. But anyway…

In Germany, for many Väter there will be no new socks and pottering around the garden and afternoon tea with the family. No. It all started hundreds of years ago with the fathers meeting in the town square and wagons and beer and loads of offspring and winning a prized ham. Only in Germany. Go ahead and Google it.

Anyway, a typical and apparently *steeped-in-tradition* activity for German fathers on this special day is to wander around the countryside with a bunch of mates and a wooden handcart (Bollerwagen) full of beer. And do what men tend to do when they have no responsibilities for the day and too much alcohol at their disposal. I reckon you can fill in the gaps yourself 😉. And while many people do like to imbibe when celebrating with friends or on special occasions (like New Year), according to the Federal Office of Statistics here in Germany, on Father’s Day alcohol-related traffic accidents occur at approximately THREE TIMES the average daily rate (even more than on NYE, by the way). Perhaps it’s not such a great idea. Hmm…

So, my dear Hubby himself had no plans to go out boozing with anyone on Father’s Day. It was after all, our daughter’s birthday too. But he did have grand aspirations to brew up his own vat of beer during the course of the day. (It’s been a hobby of his for several months now and has produced a variety of great tasting beers. I can attest!). While our 3 children were all “trying out” the gifts our Miss 8 had received, Hubby was running about setting up his brewing space and filling up jugs of water and weighing and measuring all the necessary ingredients and getting excited about his latest creation. Until…

He too was being violently ill in the bathroom. Ah, next rollercoaster valley of the week. After the first time it became abundantly clear that this wasn’t some simple “maybe I ate too fast at breakfast” type thing and was actually a “gastro virus” type thing. Poor guy. Sucky way to be spending your own Father’s Day, right? So with much disappointment, the bubbling beer brew got poured down the drain (no point sharing your viruses with your mates) and the day’s plans got somewhat rearranged and toned down in deference to the sick and weak. (See? I already said it. Mamas must be prepared for anything and remain flexible with plans!!) Nevertheless, at least Miss 8 loved her birthday and went to bed still grinning from ear to ear. Until…

Let the Party Begin… Almost

The next morning, when she too was over a bucket. Oh come on! Seriously?!? By this point it had almost become a joke. Family members were practically laying bets on who would be next to fall. Oh man…

Not only is it awful watching your family members being so ill. But there’s also the sheer terror of delivering possibly the worst news ever to an 8 year old: that her sleepover birthday party the next day may need to be cancelled. It was the only thing on her mind the whole day, apart from the “Vomiting is so gross. When will it be finished?”. Poor thing.

Fortunately all’s well that ends well. Our daughter was bouncing off the walls and talking a million miles an hour the next morning, proving to us she was back to her former, healthy self. After some anxious consultations with the other families involved and some “just once more” disinfecting, all agreed that we could go ahead with the party. *Phew!* And party those girls did. Donuts, games, a confetti and glitter canon, movie, chitter-chatter til midnight… Wow.

And that was our rollercoaster week. Which thankfully, ended on a high note afterall!

Lessons Learned to Stay Positive

So what can we all learn from this week?

1. Vomiting is gross, but it can be cleaned up and doesn’t last forever. Remember *this too shall pass*.
2. Despite social media appearances, not everyone’s life is wonderful all the time. You take the good with the bad, stay open to change and deal with it all as it comes.
3. Not all German Papas decide that they must go out boozing with mates every Father’s day. Some are OK with spending it with their actual family.
4. Despite the chaos you might be feeling, there is always a rainbow (even if it just means that everyone has finally stopped vomiting for the week!).
5. Keep smiling and stay strong. You can handle this!

What are the Father’s Day traditions where you live? Have you ever had to can Father’s Day plans because of illness? Or cancel your child’s birthday party? How did everyone cope? I would love to hear from you in the comments section below!