2008 wishes

Well, 2008 has arrived. We saw it in with a small group of Graeme's family and friends in Sedgefield, with sparklers and mosquitoes. Nellie, having gone to bed, proceeded to wake up at midnight, and then not go back to sleep till some ungodly hour. I have to smile, but at the time, the irony was lost on me!

We had 10 days away, which was lovely, despite the mosquitoes. The mozzies were horrendous. All that flood water has left plenty of breeding grounds for them. Nellie had fun swimming in the lake, and quickly developed tremendous confidence in jumping from the raft into the water (with her ring). Most days were spent lazing around, reading or swimming, the odd bit of shopping, and with a bit of clearing up after the floods thrown in for good measure. Nellie was in her element, being doted upon by one or other of the dozen of us there. It meant she was never short of a playmate, and had constant stimulation. (I fear the return to home will seem boring for her by comparison!)

Zoe was never far from my mind though - the first times without a loved one are always tough, I'm told.

Before going away, Nellie had 4 days of very high fever, which turned out to be baby measles (Rosella, not actually measles). Needless to say, we were very worried about her until the rash appeared and we realised she was ok! Several times on days 3 and 4 we had to give her a cool bath, which she absolutely hated. I'm just glad our tenant was away on holiday, because if he'd heard her I'm sure he would have thought we were killing her.

While on holiday, Nellie had three mishaps, which also made me feel rather ill at the time. The first was that she fell down a flight of stairs (bounced off the first three, then rolled down the rest). She had two lovely shiners to show for it. The second was that she dived off the raft into a canoe (instead of stepping down into the canoe) and whacked her head a serious blow. The third was that she walked off the edge of my brother's pool, not realising it was the edge, and sank. Thank God I was right next to the pool to yank her out! We are definitely into the toddler phase where accidents are common, it would seem. Fortunately, no broken bones. Let's just hope that no-one looks at her bruises and concludes we are abusing her! (No, really, Officer, she fell down the stairs!)

Now we're home again, and trying to sort out a few things before school starts on Friday. (I get to start early because I'm new staff. Joy.) It feels good to be getting stuff done after the Christmas lull when businesses were closed, but I'm also a bit anxious that I'm not going to get it all done in time. Why are there never enough hours in the day? (or rather, why is there always more to do than I have time to do? is it just a by-product of life in a modern society, or have I, as usual, taken on more than I should?)

I really hope and pray that this year will be better than 2006 and 2007: it would be nice to have a year without a family death, or any other tragedy - just to have a 'normal' year. I'm looking forward to my first baby show in July (EEEEEEK!) but also terrified by it. I'm looking forward to my new job, but also terrified by it. I'm looking forward to doing a business course from July, but also mildly intimidated by the thought of it. I'm looking forward to Graeme getting a job. I'm looking forward to buying our new home. Mostly, I'm looking forward to settling down and making friends and having a normal life.

God bless you all, and may 2008 be filled with more joy than pain, more laughter than tears, and more blessings than you can count!