This week has been interesting, and busy and sad…. Probably something that I can say about pretty much every week, but I feel like in lots of ways it’s been more obvious this week.

One of my friends and her family are going through a really hard time at the moment with some pretty big losses that are looming… one young and one older, both cancer. It’s an awful, yucky, horrible thing and there is nothing that anyone can do to make it better for them. There is no good time for someone to die, but somehow it feels particularly horrible at Christmas, and I am so sad for all of them.

Work has been a bit of a challenge lately. I am in an area that can be quite confronting – Maternal Fetal Medicine… a part of Maternity outpatient that deals with particularly complex pregnancies (twins, triplets etc), all kinds of disabilities as well as terminations and pregnancy loss. It can be hard sometimes with stressed parents, difficult decisions and grief. I found out at a staff meeting that I will be in that area for the next little while, which I don’t mind as I had said I was interested in it- but a conversation with my boss about it might have been nice before she announced it at a meeting!?

It is definitely an interesting place to work, and I am learning a whole lot of new things. The team is quite a small one and very inclusive, no one seems to mind the million questions that I have. Randomly, the other day a staff member from a different area popped in to have a chat. It turns out she is psychic, and gave a couple of us an impromptu reading… I will be interested to see how many of her predictions will come true!

I am kind of starting to look forward to hosting my family Christmas this year. For a while after Claytie died it was really hard to pretend, and to just get through it for the boys. This year for me feels much more positive and I have been busy putting D and the boys to work, getting the garden into shape, helping to put up fairy lights and working out if we will have enough tables and chairs…. I have done all of the wrapping, and started to sort out the food…. Now I just need for the weather to play nice and for things to go to plan. It will be lovely to have everyone together – with our version of traditional German food, and watching the Squish getting spoiled and enjoying Christmas!…. And just quietly, between my dad and D, we have a couple of options on who can play Santa!