Ownership, pregnancy bring gigantic worries

front row seat for the world’s next extinction event! Woe unto us!’’

I was more sanguine, since a friend had recently had the same problem and it cost $150 to fix.

I tried everything to soothe Nick’s worries. Rational arguments, back rubbing, chamomile tea and deep breathing techniques.

Nothing could take him away from his laptop, furiously Googling drainage information and erosion techniques.

It was only the next morning after the drainage expert came to our house and fixed the overflow problem in 10 minutes for $150 (as our friends predicted) that a relaxed smile returned to his face.

But it would be unfair to mock him publicly without mentioning my own newly found capacity to worry.

Being pregnant is stressful. Everything you eat, drink and do could potentially put your baby at

remediation risk, and there are daily reminders of this in the media.

I read about toxoplasmosis – a parasitic disease you can get through cat faeces that can result in birth defects.

I started panicking because I’d had a sore throat (one of the symptoms) after we’d been to a friend’s house for dinner, and they have two cats. There was no reason for panicking – I didn’t even see the cats then and know my friend is clean and was unlikely to have garnished our meal with cat droppings.

Still, I could not stop worrying I might have a deformed baby and no rational argument could talk me out of it. I made an appointment for a blood test which came back negative a couple of days later. Only then could I laugh at my silliness.

I guess it’s a good sign that we worry about our house and our baby. It will help us protect both and stay cautious. But I hope we find a way to chill out and stay rational. Otherwise we will be exhausted by the end of the year.

Did you have irrational worries when you became a homeowner or a parent? How did you cope? Follow me on Twitter @CcileJourno or email cecile.meier@press.co.nz Q. My street is technical category 2 on one side and TC3 on the other. I am not aware of any neighbour who had a problem with liquefaction. I appreciate that a boundary must exist between the two zones but does the authority intend to eventually determine the correct designation for the properties rather than rely on an arbitrary line drawn on a map? This is important as it makes a big difference to the sale time, and price, to anyone intending to sell. – Bruce Newburgh. A. The boundaries of the technical categories were the result of analysis based on historical and postearthquake data, discussions with geotechnical consultants and research groups, and engineering judgment. The risk of liquefaction was the main determining factor. Even if you didn’t see signs of liquefaction, liquefaction may still have occurred below the surface.

Regardless of whether a property is TC2 or TC3, what’s important is the home’s ability to perform well in a seismic event. This is likely to be the main concern of a prospective buyer. Therefore, it would be useful to support the sale of a property that was not damaged with evidence of the home’s performance. It may also be useful to have any geotechnical information placed on the council property file. – Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment

I started panicking because I’d had a sore throat . . .