#2560 Baby parcels

Baby parcels. It’s been a fun day 😁

The first one came in the morning. It was small and flat, and I knew it was one of the two things I ordered last week.

And so it was. The outfit I’m planning on putting on baby, one of their special ‘first,’ once they arrive. 🥰🥰😍😍

Oooh, I can’t help it, it’s so cute! I was oohing and aahing over it, and baby girl was like “come on Mum, yeah say you love it some more.” 🙄🤣

And I paused and went – “I love it!”

A sneak peek. 😉

Then, an hour or two later, there was another parcel. Baby girl informed me as I worked, that there had been something left at our door. We went to have a look… and I was immediately puzzled. The thing I’d ordered last week was small. This was in a medium rectangle shaped box. There was something that was meant to come in Hubbie’s name too, which may have needed a larger box, but this was in my name.

Intrigued.

I couldn’t wait. I ripped it open, and saw a packet of nappies. 🥰😁🤣

I knew immediately it was one of my besties who had gifted me this, before I even read the note that came with it. And so it was, she was giving me a pack of the ones she used on her little one when he was born.

Ahh, nappies! It’s already beginning! I need to have myself an arrangement of nappies, creams and wipes before baby comes, so I can start experimenting and seeing what works for baby (and me) and so I don’t have to worry about running around when baby is here.

It’s so exciting! I flit between being petrified, to excited, to anxious, to happy, to petrified again, to freaking excited!

AHHH! 😁🤣🙏🤰

#2537 The long overdue catch-up

I feel the above title is a bit redundant… aren’t all catch-ups long overdue nowadays? What with covid scares, general sickness because summer is posing as winter, and all manner of crap keeping us on edge, anxious and away from loved ones?

🤦‍♀️🤣

But it happened anyway. We caught up with bestie, her hubbie and gorgeous son, and it was the best night. I sometimes get sad after nights like this, because it would be great to live closer to each other… then I remember how insanely busy we all are, and we’d still probably catch up the same amount of times as we do now. 🤷‍♀️

I think my highlights of the night were connecting over music, as we get highly passionate about that (and what a beautiful thing to connect over, don’t you think?) and seeing bestie’s little boy wave goodnight to us as he went off to bed! OMG! That was the most unexpected and beautiful thing, I loved it.

Totally made my night. In fact, the night, made my night. 🥰😍😁💖

#2515 KK ’22

After a truly crazy week, I had something great to look forward to tonight.

KK with my bestest girly pals.

I took this photo before I left. I literally was wrapping and writing cards up until I left this afternoon, and had been organising presents from as recent as yesterday.

It’s been a mad week. Sick, no car, working, and appointments, all on top of each other fighting for my attention, while me with my baby brain went from room to room, feeling lost, needing a constant reminder of things, 55 tabs open in my head and wondering why it is I walked into that room?

But it was all good. It all led to something sweet in the end. 💖 We had a beautiful night, enjoyed a yummy meal, exchanged presents, and it’s true what one of my friends said, it’s never enough time when we are together. 🥰

Just as well one of the gifts tonight was a calendar where we can pencil in monthly catch-ups together… now that’s a great idea! 😁😁🎄🧑‍🎄

#2300 The different faces of Easter

It was a different but really beautiful Orthodox Easter.

Different in that we went to a few extra places…

Beautiful in that we saw a few extra people!

Apart from the usual family-based Easter at Hubbie’s side of the family, we had a birthday party in the late morning that had me in the company of people I don’t usually see on Easter… my closest friends. The kids were shrieking and playing arcade/ticketed games, and just to be around my friends on such a day, felt so special.

We punctuated our Easter lunch with a park visit down the road, where both Hubbie and I swung around with baby girl on this 360 new-age see saw until we felt dizzy. 💫 But the sun was shining and the sky was so blue, we couldn’t stay indoors all day.

And then I got to see my bestie in a drive-by (sounds so sinister!) in the late afternoon, and get a glimpse of her precious baby boy. 😍

Honestly, I was in so many different places and across so many different people, it felt like the longest day, but also a really rewarding and beautiful one.

And whether or not you spend days like this with family, or with friends, I think the thing to consider is “is it with someone I love?” and if the answer is yes, you are WINNING.

🥰🥰

#2112 Sweet cheeks

Awww. We met a beautiful baby boy tonight. 😍

He is precious, and so perfect. We all thought so, and all felt the love and sheer adoration as we had turns holding him.

Awww. I feel that is all I can say. So glad to meet you little man. 💖

And as I whispered to him “we are going to get very well acquainted, ok?”

😁😁

It was bestie’s newborn, and it was just beautiful being out and about with friends. It’s something I am still paying gratitude to, and which I’m still not able to wrap my head around… freedom.

But gee, it feels good!

#2096 Your grass is greener

My gratitude today is a bit of a weird one, because it comes by way of comparison…

You know the saying, “the grass is greener on the other side?”

Well, what if you looked over the fence and found that the grass was brown… brittle… maybe even non-existent?

I’ve had many jobs now where I’ve had access to media of all sorts. Much of it has been entertainment and fictional. But some of it in the past has been based on fact and quite difficult to take in. And now as I work in the education sector, you can imagine how much more realistic and factual things have become.

As such, I was across some content today that was discussing serious disease and infection in the body. I watched, I listened… and I grew depressed.

Whenever I see something like this, I’m reminded of me and bestie in year 12 biology, studying hard and musing that there are A LOT of things that can go wrong in your body or kill you. Sobering thoughts, which is why I DID NOT follow on with that theme in my further study.

But it’s very true, and very sobering. In jobs like this, I am reminded gently time and time again that things can very easily go wrong, and in seeing that I realise how freaking lucky I am.

Hubbie came home and I was like “you know what? If you’re having a half-good day and your health is in not bad shape, well count your lucky stars and shut up. Be grateful.”

Which is what it always comes back to, right? Being grateful. 🙏

Be grateful for the beautiful life you have. Even with your problems, someone wishes they were you right now.

Someone wishes they were on your grass.

Photo by Bob Ward on Pexels.com

#1993 Yin energy

We need to surround ourselves with feminine energy.

As a woman, it is intrinsic to our wellbeing. To our survival. To be able to motivate ourselves, go on and go on, reach higher and further than we ever thought possible… we need to surround ourselves with yin.

But… it has to be the right yin.

Find it in your mothers, your sisters and your daughters.

Find it in your cousins, colleagues, those you meet on the street that you connect with instantly.

Those that you see and go “YES!” I feel you.

Find it in your friends. In the friends that you’ve known for so long, the ones that there is no pause for breath, the friends that can support you and help you, leaving you feeling full to the brim with love, laughter and constant memories.

Today I felt supremely lucky that amidst all this recent lockdown business, we were still able to go out and celebrate a dear friend’s baby shower.

I think we were all super excited, you know, being out of the house and socialising. 🤣

But mostly, seeing the love growing from the depths of our friend’s belly. 💖💖

See these flowers? They look fragile, pretty and at the mercy of the lightest breeze.

Yet look deeper, and you find an inner, unshakeable strength, so strong that the harshest rains, winds and heat cannot shake it.

That is yin. That is feminine energy. Going with the flow, but standing strong and proud from within.

And I know how to tell if you’re with the right yin energy, the right people.

At the end if the day, you’re asking yourself –

“When can we do this again?”

And so we did.

“When will we do this again?”

🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰

#1915 Holding on when it’s hard

“You gotta be tough when life gets hard. This is when you need to be strong. It’s easy when everything’s great.”

These are the words Hubbie was telling me as I lay on the couch tonight crying.

I’ve had health issues with seemingly no end in sight. And when I say no end in sight, I mean 9 months counting.

Counting.

I was having a particularly low moment tonight.

But what I did next helped insurmountably.

I talked. I spoke to Hubbie. I messaged my bestie. I messaged my sister.

I reached out. It was hard, and I was crying my eyes out as I did it, but I did it.

And it helped so, so much.

And I can say, I understand the intent of the quote “a problem shared is a problem halved.” It is. By talking about your problems with someone, the weight is lifted off of you… the issue itself moves away from you, is made a bit lesser, just by letting it out of you, and watching your words float away…

Speaking of quotes, bestie shared a great one with me.

“Before something great happens, everything falls apart.”

I feel that. I believe that. It’s just sometimes, everything gets too hard and I fall into falling apart, more than I do reminding myself that something great will come out of it.

I’m still in the first stage, but I’m waiting…

And it’s set me off to look for more quotes that will inspire me and get me out of this funk.

If you are feeling low, please:

Talk to someone.

Distract yourself with something that will make you happy, i.e. inspirational quotes.

REPEAT.

I will not be sharing this post on facebook like I do my others. Last time I shared a difficult post I had all manner of family and friends reaching out in concern, which was wonderful… but it’s also not why I do this.

I am doing this, to find gratitude in every day, no matter how hard it is. And I know how truly hard it was for me today, because I was an inch away from giving all of this up. The gratitude, the blog, everything.

But, I held on. I am HANGING ON. And this post here, is proof of that.

I am grateful to be hanging on.

Photo by Luca Nardone on Pexels.com

#1733 Day 235 of getting there: Getting out of HERE!

Today, instead of dropping off baby girl at school, then turning the car around to drive back home to sit at my desk and WORK…

I took the car, to the freeway!

Woo hoo! I was free!

Today was the first day I went outside of the 25kms since the restrictions eased. And it seemed to be one of those days, where things seemed to flow, as busy busy busy as they were.

I made my first stop at bestie’s to drop off a birthday present, because surprise surprise, it was her birthday!

I told you, FLOW.

It was so lovely to catch up, even if so briefly, and to put a smile on her face… behind the mask of course. 😉

And although the rest of the day involved stuff like car services and appointments, I got to see my family… yes! My parents, and my sister, who I haven’t seen for so long. 💖

Our minds were elsewhere, and there was much to discuss, and not even the surface of the surface was scratched, that’s how much we still have to catch up on… But to be around loved, familiar, happy faces, to feel that support and be a part of that all, was the sweetest thing ever.

So happy to be getting ‘here’ again. 😍

#1693 Day 195 of getting there: Two surprises

After a shit week, I was lucky to get a few things today, that were even better than my tulips blooming.

Bestie sent me a belated birthday present, a gorgeous mug.

It’s now my new favourite mug. And the message it gives is what I need more than ever right now. I need to feel powerful, not helpless.

My second surprise came when Hubbie got home from work. He bought me a beautiful bouquet.

I cried. Not because they were beautiful. But because of what he said.

“You’ve had a rough week.”

OMG yes. I just want to be free of fear. Healthy again. To have these scarring memories of health gone wrong, other fears, life not going how you expect… I want all of this to go away.

I need to remember, that life can be good again. I can be healthy. I can laugh, without troubling thoughts invading from my periphery of thought. I can feel EMPOWERED.

Those little mementos, from those I love, have helped me immensely today.

Their support feeds my healing. It feeds my growth. And it reminds me, I have people to lean on. 💖💖💖💖