It will soon be two and a half years since Tilda died

Two and a half years since the irrational fear of driving my car began

I have never been a massively confident driver

But before Tilda died

I would happily drive with all three children in the car

Before Tilda was born I used to take Esther and William out every single day

I love our car

It is the perfect family car

Space enough for all of us

And easy to drive

Our VW Touran is one of only a few cars

That fits three car seats across the middle row

It has two more seats in the back if needed too

Having a reliable family car is a necessity for us

We live in a tiny village with no amenities

We have to be able to drive

We are very lucky that we own our cars outright

If anything went wrong though

And we were left without a car

We would be very grateful for car finance services

This week we had a medical mystery with our William

He bit into an apple

And then his face started to swell

Just below his ear

The swelling happened literally before my eyes

And William said to me, ‘Mummy, my face hurts’

We did not know what to do

William is not allergic to apples that we know of

There was no obvious sign of a bite or sting

The swelling was the size of a golf ball

We called 111 to check what we should do

They sent the paramedics because of the size, speed and location of the swelling

The team that came were wonderful

But no one could conclusively say what had happened to our boy

They called our GP surgery and escorted us there

An exciting first ride for William in an ambulance

Not so much fun for me

Flashbacks to the night that Tilda died

And the night of Esther’s febrile convulsion

I was so grateful to know

That David was right behind me in the car

To be beside me and our medical conundrum of a son

And to drive us safely home

For families living in remote rural areas

Families with medical needs

Families who want to get out and about

A good family car is needed

It should not be considered a luxury

And families like ours will ensure that they have a car

By any means

Including reputable loans

Like those offered by TSB

We have just three weeks left of summer

And I am determined to get in my car and drive

Determined to take my children out

And make some memories

Before we all go back to school

I am determined on my days off in September

To make myself take Bea out of the house

So I cannot just sit on my laptop and work

We are going to do classes

And have Mummy Bea outings

I really cannot wait

It is drive time

Time to drive!

This post was written in collaboration with TSB