Snap

My daughter’s got a new habit.

I didn’t realise its purpose at first.

She snaps her fingers. Not to click along in time to the beat of music she’s listening to, nor to summon me to do her bidding (she has other methods for this). No, she has a very specific reason for doing it.

It’s a test.

She took her gloves and coat off the other day, looked carefully at her hands, and started snapping.

“What are you doing that for?” I asked.

“I’m seeing how cold my hands are,” she explained, giving me a look. “If I can click my fingers then they’re not too cold.”

Having Prader-Willi Syndrome means my daughter’s circulation is poor, and her extremities are rarely warm, even with thermal socks and gloves on. She’s not happy being outside in wintry weather for more than a few minutes; if we make a snowman, we make it small and we make it damned fast.

So she seems to have developed a little totemic reassurance for herself. Each click, click, click, is accompanied by a satisfied nod, nod, nod.

I’ve decided to call it her cold snap.

Although it’s just struck me that I really need a contingency plan for when the weather turns really cold. What’ll I do if she can’t click? The title of one of her favourite DVDs seems strangely prescient: Ice Age - The Meltdown.

So I’m off to stock up. Glove warming heat pads, hot water bottles, and patience. Unfortunately, I'm guessing the last item might be out of stock at Sainsbury’s.

Video is Stiff Little Fingers - Alternative Ulster (The eagle-eyed among you might have noticed I originally posted this mistakenly with yesterday's post. Just keeping you on your toes.)