Entry for 10th December, 2008 - Sore throats are good

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I have been thinking more about being ill, and why there seems to be something comforting about it. I have come to the conclusion that it’s because being ill reminds you about all that is best about having a mother. When I was ill as a kid, my mum would make sure I had cool clean sheets every day. She would make a special effort to give me the food I found appealing (toast and butter; scrambled eggs; French toast).
Above all, I suppose, instead of being in school I got to be in the house all day, alone with mum. All that attention. All that love. All that comfort. If I close my eyes even now when I am ill, I can almost hear her rattling around in the kitchen.