When the news of the swine flu hit our television and a sea of people with masks on their faces beamed into our loungeroom everyone understood the seriousness of the situation.

Sombre, Maddy came to me.

“Mum, are those people wearing masks to cover the snouts that grew when they caught that flu?”

+++

The following week, Maddy stood at her bedroom door…

“It gets dark, when the sun goes down”.

Her twin sister and her friend fell about the floor in fits of laughter.

I must admit I smothered a few chuckles myself.

+++

Last weekend she sidled up to me and asked if she could dye her hair brown;

“Maybe if I change the colour of my hair, I won’t be so blonde”.

No, my sweet girl, I don’t think becoming a brunette will change much at all.