All change
I have a load of stuff backed up (reviews, the Year Meme, What I Did On My Holiday), and have had not enough time to write anything, but really do need to do some kind of quick update, as so much has been going on.
The holiday was fab, but we came back on Saturday, somewhat jetlagged, to a note from our downstairs neighbour reckoning that we (she meant us + upstairs, but the reality, which includes blocked guttering, is all three flats) need to do some repairs to stop rain leaking into her flat. Which is just what you need when you've recently spent a ton of money on a holiday and another ton and a half on a one-year travelcard...
Then my mum phoned on Sunday. I wished her a happy birthday (for the previous day) and she said she had some good news and some bad news. The good news, not too surprisingly, was that my new nephew arrived safely on Saturday morning, 8lbs something, and is being gifted with the forenames Thomas Stanley Benjamin. The bad news is that my Nan died on Wednesday morning, probably (by my maths) around the time A and I were walking home from clubbing in San Francisco on our 10th anniversary.
So, that was pretty weird.
I'm mostly OK, and then suddenly get random flashes of emotion. My mum called again today to thank me for her belated birthday/you're a grandmother again/bereavement flowers, and started talking about the readings for the funeral, and when she named/said the first line of one particular poem (which I've never even liked that much), I got so choked up that I couldn't have talked even had mum (who has a real talent for maintaining a conversation without needing your help) stopped doing so...
The holiday was fab, but we came back on Saturday, somewhat jetlagged, to a note from our downstairs neighbour reckoning that we (she meant us + upstairs, but the reality, which includes blocked guttering, is all three flats) need to do some repairs to stop rain leaking into her flat. Which is just what you need when you've recently spent a ton of money on a holiday and another ton and a half on a one-year travelcard...
Then my mum phoned on Sunday. I wished her a happy birthday (for the previous day) and she said she had some good news and some bad news. The good news, not too surprisingly, was that my new nephew arrived safely on Saturday morning, 8lbs something, and is being gifted with the forenames Thomas Stanley Benjamin. The bad news is that my Nan died on Wednesday morning, probably (by my maths) around the time A and I were walking home from clubbing in San Francisco on our 10th anniversary.
So, that was pretty weird.
I'm mostly OK, and then suddenly get random flashes of emotion. My mum called again today to thank me for her belated birthday/you're a grandmother again/bereavement flowers, and started talking about the readings for the funeral, and when she named/said the first line of one particular poem (which I've never even liked that much), I got so choked up that I couldn't have talked even had mum (who has a real talent for maintaining a conversation without needing your help) stopped doing so...