She’s Here!

Well, I had every intention of writing this blog five days ago, when, after a somewhat stressful week waiting for the imminent arrival of Sam and Elise’s baby, my son called me to say that he and Elise were now mum and dad to a beautiful baby girl! Delivered safely by Cesarean section on the 19th February and weighing just 7lbs 9ozs (not the vast weight that had been suggested) she was finally here – another dear little soul for our family to love and cherish. I am over the moon, and both Colin and I feel extraordinarily blessed.

It’s crazy to think less than two years I was sharing the news of Sam and Elise’s engagement, then blogging about their wedding and now they have a child!   And somehow children seem to be the biggest markers of time, highlighting the speed at which it moves, the changes it brings about, and the often, overwhelming sense of the lack of it! Sometimes I wish I could stop the clock and just take a breath, but then I might miss something, and to quote the words of that monumental movie song “I don’t want to miss a thing” 😊

One of the nicest things about getting good news is being able to share it here and on social media, and I must thank you so much for the messages of love and congratulations. Thanks also for the comments on the last blog when we compared notes and birth stories!   My lovely daughter-in-law Elise had such a rotten pregnancy feeling so terribly sick for most of it, and even being hospitalised a couple of times, I think the icing on the cake was being told that a Cesarean would be the safest option as the baby was very big!   She desperately wanted to have a natural birth and she and Sam had attended a whole course of NCT classes, but in spite of four attempts to induce nothing happened and so I was very relieved when they gave her a final date for the C-section – although it was pushed back by four days! 

We met our beautiful granddaughter just 26 hours after she was born and that overwhelming sense of connection was immediate, just as it had been with my first grandchild Honey, almost 10 years ago.  This little soul has quite a lot of dark hair, a beautiful face and the moment I held her in my arms it was as though I was holding Sam again as every one of those 36 years melted away…   She slept pretty much the entire time we were there, but we visited again on Sunday when she was awake for a little while,  and I’m heading back there tomorrow to help around the house and sort a few meals as well as have a few cuddles! I was thrilled skinny that they were so pleased with the blanket I made and she’s been wrapped up in it ever since I gave it to them at the hospital. 😁Sam and Elise have taken to parenting like ducks to water and there is a lovely sense of calm and contentment in their home.  I realise it’s early days and I’m sure they’ll have some long nights ahead, but I know for my son this is something he’s wanted for a long time. To see him so happy, settled and fulfilled is a joy, after what has been a very difficult journey at certain times in his life, and I know he’s going to be an excellent daddy to his babygirl.  No doubt I’ll be filling future blogs with more pictures as she grows (forgive me) and hopefully, once they decide on a name I’ll post it on Instagram on Facebook – so keep your eyes peeled! 😊

Of course having this lovely support network through the blog has been a great way over the last 15 years or more for you and I to share our news, but I know life is not always easy.  I want to send my love to Mandy who wrote on the last blog and told me that at 60 years old she had very suddenly lost her fiancé.  Her sense of loneliness and loss was evident, and I sincerely hope she has friends and family around her to comfort her.  Yet again I am reminded how fortunate I am to be part of a large and ever present family.  My godmother Edna who lives in a retirement village was widowed almost 20 years ago, and was never blessed with children.   She finds it quite hard when most of her friends have families who regularly visit, but she is very fortunate to be surrounded by a group of friends who share their time with her.  I’ve always enjoyed her company and try to visit as often as I can, and I share my family with her through photographs and conversation. She has been in my life all my life so we share some wonderful memories, and are planning another seaside break this summer.  It will be her 87^th birthday the week before mine, and with the exception of my mum’s partner Joe who is now 93, she’s the only remaining ‘elderly’ relative I have, which leads me to the realization that I have almost come full circle in my journey… I am now the ‘older generation’… 

But I’m not going to dwell on that!  As I said to my friend Jo while we marveled at Giovanni Pernice and his troupe of dancers leaping across the stage in his dance show last Sunday, I still feel 16 inside (arthritis and osteoporosis aside) and treat each day as a blessing.  I will never forget the fear that stayed with me after my cancer diagnosis, that I might not live to see my grandchildren, but thank the Lord and the medical profession I am still here and enjoying every moment with them, as you’ll see from these photographs of us over half term with the rest of the family! 

I finally finished Liane Moriaty’s ‘Here One Moment’ and was relieved that she turned the whole thing around and gave the reader a positive ending! Have you read any of her books – what do you think?  I’m going to go for something a little lighter next – Beth O’Leary’s The Wake Up Call which looks promising and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed a few of her other novels.   I also watched the entire six part series of Black Doves on Netflix over two nights – phew!  It was brilliant, and Ben Wishall, Keira Knightly and Sarah Lancashire were outstanding – definitely worth a watch. 

Well, that’s it for now – I’m off to do a bit of batch cooking to take with Sam and Elise tomorrow!  I do hope life is good for you and thank you always for keeping in touch with me here.  Hopefully we’ll all see some more sunshine soon as if not I may need to take a kayak up the M4 tomorrow!  😊

With my love,

Ali  xxx