THE FIREGUARD

Taking a rare break she sat down with her cup of tea and found herself staring at the fireguard.  How she hated that piece of equipment.  To her that’s just what it was EQUIPMENT.  You could not call it furniture.  Furniture was something nice and pleasing to the eye, something you choose to put into a room.  This was equipment, plain and functional, a permanent fixture, not something you could throw out when you got bored of it or when fashions changed.

When you have children your environment changes as they develop.  The once cosy lounge shared by you and your partner is no longer the love nest it used to be.  Baby paraphernalia at first, the changing mat, baby box and baby chair hide the furniture.  Later the toys start to appear, building blocks and crayons found shoved down the sofa.  Once a child starts to move around, the room is looked at from a safety point of view.  You get down on the floor as the books suggest and view everything through the eyes of your now mobile toddler.  Sockets now have safety plugs, wires are concealed, corners made safer with plastic covers, ornaments are either discarded or raised up high, stairs are gated and the all important fireguard is fixed.

She remembered how much she had liked the feature fireplace when they first viewed the house.  It gave the room a cosy feel especially as it also housed the modern gas fire which was made to look like an old-fashioned log fire when lit.  They had spent many a happy cold winter evening in front of that fire.

When their Daughter was born the fireguard was not the enemy.  Infact it was viewed upon as being a very important part of the lounge as they could still sit in front of that fire without worry.  Later when the news came that their Daughter had been born with an underdeveloped brain and would forever need to be kept in a safe environment the fireguard became a constant reminder of the challenges they faced.

They had been through a lot over the years and remarkably their Daughter (now 10 years old) had developed well but mentally she was still a young child and had no understanding of danger.  The world to her was a giant playground.  They loved her so much and would not be without her but sometimes life seemed so hard.

She took another sip from the now cold tea.  It was almost Christmas but the only thing in that lounge that suggested it might be the Festive Season was the tinsel draped around the mirror.  They could not have a tree in there it would not be safe.  A friend had been round for coffee a few days ago and had remarked upon the lack of Christmas decoration.

“Wrap some tinsel around that fireguard,” she suggested, “it will make a nice feature”.

When she was told that the Daughter would only try and eat it the friend’s reply was

“Well you will just have to teach her not too!”

Those words had stuck with her and reminded her of just how little some people understand.  If only it was just that simple. 

So whilst other families went through that ritual of being able to get rid of the stair gates and fireguards which subconsciously made the statement “see how our child is becoming independent” she felt stuck in a time warp, forever reminded of how things were not going to be.

A single tear made little rings into the half drank tea as it silently rolled down her cheek and into the cup.  She dabbed her eye and looked up at the clock.  No time for brooding, the taxi would soon be arriving bringing her Daughter from school. Life goes on.

She got up, straightened her hair in the mirror above the fireplace and gave the fireguard a swift kick before turning to leave the room.

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AUTHORS NOTE:  THIS STORY IS FICTIONAL BUT THE FEELINGS I WANTED TO CONVEY ARE REAL TO MANY PEOPLE WHO HAVE CHILDREN WITH DIFFERENT NEEDS.  WHEN MY DAUGHTER TOLD ME ONCE THAT SHE LONGED FOR A LOUNGE WITHOUT A FIREGUARD AT FIRST I DID NOT UNDERSTAND.  I HOPE THAT AFTER READING THIS SHE KNOWS THAT NOW I THINK I DO.