Out of Hibernation

 I read a post somewhere about the person involved describing their depression as a form of hibernation and I though it was quite apt.  I've been away from here for the longest time ever, sure I've taken a month off here and there but not nearly eight months!  For the early part of the year I was busy finishing up my final piece for my red tent doula qualification, my piece was entitled "Unravelling birth stories using creative writing and art therapy."  I had a final session with my doula mentor and my final piece was well received and a certificate was duly despatched.

Somewhere around the middle of February I noticed that things were slightly off and not only did I withdraw from various online connections (this place included) I was really having to force myself to get dressed, have a shower and do basic daily things each day.  I had a lovely appointment with my GP and  we both reached the same conclusion that I was suffering from mild depression.  A plan of action was devised which included talking therapy and a series of online 'Zoom' sessions based on well being and gratitude.  I'm pleased to report I've made it through the other side and back to my usual self :-)

Despite having some really tough days we have had a lot of good things happen in these intervening few months so I though I would share a small selection of photos capturing this time:

Eva and her family were in London for the third time and we finally got to meet them in person!

Dave and Peter

Pip with Miriam, Veronika and Flora.

Eva and I.

I was really proud of myself dealing with London traffic.  We were staying in Guildford and since the A3 into London was closed due to a road traffic accident. I literally had to go around all the houses!  Eva cooked some beautiful food that catered for all of our dietary requirements which is no mean feat for sure :-)

A Flying Visit from Sr Emma

Em and Sr Karen her companion made a flying visit.  I had a phone call on the Friday to say that the flight was booked for the Sunday and they would return home on the Thursday!  It was a whistle stop tour of seeing family interspersed with daily mass and fit to fly Covid tests!

Almost all of us (Sara and Tom were working and not able to switch out their work schedule) including an extra addition nestled in Kath's tum!  Grandchild number three and granddaughter number two due any day now!

Confirmation Weekend

Pip was confirmed on Pentecost Sunday (June 5th).  She chose Chiara Badano as her confirmation saint.  Dave's mum stopped for the weekend and our longstanding Little Flower's friend Kara was Pip's confirmation sponsor.  Sadly photos were not allowed in the church but some official snaps were taken, we are just awaiting a copy.  We did however have a really lovely day and that is all that matters.

  

Party Food

Pip and her friend Rosey (Kara's eldest daughter).

A post Pip hospital treat the following day and before Nanna returned home.

The Annual Fairy Day

Every year we celebrate a midsummer fairy day for Pip since her actual birthday is literally just before Christmas.  Her best friend spends the day with us and they have a whole heap of fun :-)  Once again ETSY came up trumps and they did a 'Night at The Museum' escape room which then earned them both a copy of the Hogwarts Baking Book.  Their task was to make Hagrid's Rock Cakes for an after tea dessert and the kitchen survived two giggly teenage girls - thankfully not much mess amidst the mayhem!

Confirmation Pilgrimage to Lindisfarne

We wanted to mark Pip's confirmation in a special way and so we took both her and Rosey to the North East of the UK.  We stopped at the Youth Hostel at Alnwick, visited Barter Books, Lindisfarne also known as Holy Island, had fish and chips at Seahouses and on our last day home stopped off at the Roman Army Museum just outside of Hexham.

Choosing a holiday read from Barter Books.

Barter Books Tea Room.

The girls in charge of tea on the first night: beef burgers, oven chips and mixed veg.

St Mary's Church Lindisfarne.

Fish and Chips at Seahouses.

The Front of the YHA.

Last stop before home.

I think that's me caught up!  I really am hoping to pop by more frequently over here and on folks blogs as I've missed catching up with some blogging friends.  Take care folks x 

A Birthday Celebration For Our Lady

It was Our Lady's birthday yesterday and we were all so pleased to finally attend mass.  It has been several months since we last made church due to the down-turn in my health, but so far I have stabilised this week, so all is good :-)  The mass was also offered for our daughter Emma, as we remembered the anniversary of her final profession four years ago:

 Oldest and youngest, who have only met twice!  Once when Pip was too small to remember at her christening and then here at the wedding.  Pip misses Em and sends her emails and the odd letter when she can.  

The kids helped set a nice table for Our Lady and we even lit the birthday ring in her honour:

 Salad, crackers and crisps followed by a hot chocolate and twirl flake bar :-)

After lunch Pip finished her study on wheat and decorated the front cover of her book:

 One farmer singing our harvest song and scattering the wheat from his satchel.

A really good first week back at school.

Hospital Edition Part Two

Thank you for all your prayers and good wishes :-)

 The ID tags I had to wear so they knew what did not agree with me and that they didn't mistake me for someone else!

The clinical nurse performing the endoscopy recommended entonox for pain relief as there was one part deemed particularly painful and she was right!  I have given birth four times with no analgesia but the pain was very similar to the pain over a week ago, so not only was I " off my head" on entonox I started to lose consciousness again.  At one point I thought I was back in my bedroom with Dave on that fateful Sunday morning!

The good news is that everything looked normal but to make sure they have sent in a sample for testing.  The staff were wonderful especially since I spent the rest of my time in recovery crying!!  A common side effect of the Entonox, good job I didn't use it in labour then :-)

I have managed to eat a small amount and have been drinking plenty.  God is good, I have been upheld in prayer and I was able to offer an arrow prayer for a lady who was terrified of her procedure.  Remember the story about the love of God spanning an ocean?  Well Em rang this afternoon to check how I was and didn't even know that it was my day for the procedure, in the chaos of the past week I had forgotten to tell her :-)

I know He holds me in the palm of His hand, what an amazing Father!

Love to you all, San xx