Boxing Day's Boxing Day

So here we are on December 27^th.

Our first Christmas as parents went by in a tired blur of confusion and crying. I’m sure these things will get better as The Little Fella gets older, but this one has been a bit of an inconvenience, in a way. Trying to juggle the exhaustion of labour, getting used to a baby and the biggest annual occasion in the Western world all at the same time is a bit of a trial.

Still – our fault for contriving to conceive nine months ago, right?

I’m still finding it hard to believe it has happened. After months of preparing for it, and after years of thinking about it, to be sitting here now with a Junior in the building is earth-shifting, overwhelming and a bit dreamlike. Ted and Beryl popped over today, bringing with them half of the products available from Hamleys’ website. Everyone ended up in tears, especially Philippa when Beryl told her we can call on them anytime we need help as we’re an important part of their family. Not sure what they can do while Beryl is still getting used to a new knee and Ted is getting weaker and frailer by the week, but the sentiment is welcome and the love is real, and appreciated. They’re not the only visitors we’ve had, either. Sophie finished a 12-hour Christmas Day shift and then drove straight down to see us and meet The Little One. Hannah and Nathan have been popping backwards and forwards as often as they can, bringing a supply of satsumas and nappies and having a pot of tea on the go constantly while they’re here. It’s weird, because part of me wishes everyone would just leave us alone to get on with stuff, but the rest of me is so grateful to have them here.

It’s amazing what a baby does to people.

Our ‘neighbours’ (I put it in inverted commas as our houses aren’t connected) – who we haven’t had a huge amount of contact with, although we all get on very well – have called in several times to wish us well and bring us soup and stews and generally be lovely and wonderful. My superiors have sent a huge bouquet of flowers for Philippa and a large teddy for Mathew and told me to ‘take as long as I need’ before returning to my duties, which is amazing because I assumed they’d all be spending Christmas time away from work, drowning in sherry while those on the Ground Floor and at the Coal Face drowned in overenthusiastic Boxing Day shoppers.

It’s all been wonderful, it really has.

But also tiring.

I hope this blog has made sense in the reading. I could happily take the rest of the year off, but I’m still determined to reach 250 postings in 2018!

More to follow soon…..

RC (daddy!) 27-12-18