Post 450: Another take-out, another Sunday.
With all the week behind us, we were looking forward to Monday and the big news - the biggest news in my life… ever.
“But how could that be?” I hear you say. “You said that having a grandbaby is the best news ever.”
Which it is…
But it’s tomorrow that the 20-week scan will (hopefully) find out if it’s a boy or a girl.
Why should that matter? I hear my mind asking.
Well, it will definitely help My Darling identify and organise the little one’s stack of clothes that she’s about to buy and tidy into neat piles. Ha ha.
But let’s come back to that, the nursery and life after birth. That’s for later, and there will be many more questions besides.
For now, let’s touch on a problem I had this morning.
It was similar to last weekend in that we’d had another Chinese take-out and I’d had exactly the same reaction.
I woke twice in the dark, aware that my tummy was gurgling. I quickly realised there was an urgency to the situation and sped off to seek sanctuary in the loo.
That said, I felt the war was over as I got comfy and took a look at my phone.
Within seconds I was in the swirl of a storm below deck, and it was all I could do not to get dragged into the shiny white seat.
Eventually the storm moved on and allowed me off the hook… for a while.
Meanwhile, I’ve noticed the birds are changing their morning calls.
The gulls are off to pillage again, the jackdaws are playing happy families and the starlings are whistling their latest tunes.
The cat had already squeezed through the bedroom window in search of breakfast, but it’s only now that I can hear those autumn-like calls zooming up and down pitches of noise I could only dream of whistling myself.
It’s a relaxing sound, and one I savour, but it also makes me think of falling leaves.
It’s far too early for falling leaves to be discussed here on the blog - it’s hardly summer’s end - but the trees are probably beginning to think about water shortages as the water meters continue whizzing around with hardly any thought from residents and gardeners.
I’m only too happy to stop watering my cacti and washing the car - it’s no problem to me.
The only species I really worry about are the fungi all around us, but as I’ve grown to realise over the years, fungi are bigger and better than us and seem to need very little help to survive.
But doubling back to our guest, our youngest son, while we had him close to hand we grilled him about his new job after his first week.
It seems the overriding purpose of that first week was simply to get to know people and places. That was clearly the primary objective - finding out who’s who.
It seems our son’s abilities as a Ranger will be very helpful, but because he’s such a people person I think he’s really looking forward to making this management role work well.
As we sat in the lounge, Byron had found his favourite spot on the sofa where he could chill.
The only mystery between us was our son.
He had hinted that he and his fiancée could do with a helping hand tomorrow when they go for the 20-week scan.
We looked at one another and simply said, “Well, we’re doing nothing anyway. How can we help?”
We’d do anything for our children, so we couldn’t think of a nicer way to help.
Our job is to look after the dog while the scan is being done and the new information is shared with the parents-to-be.
Brilliant.
For us, it really doesn’t matter, obviously. I don’t think it matters to our son or his darling either.
So maybe tomorrow we’ll discover whether the baby is a boy or a girl.
That, in itself, will nudge My Darling into another gear, and there’ll be pink or blue things appearing everywhere.
Ha ha.
My Darling watched the last match of the championship while Byron slept and we ate our take-out.
Apparently the wrong person won.
That didn’t surprise me, although I’m not really into tennis these days anyway.
In fact, if I didn’t see any of the World Cup matches, I wouldn’t worry.
It’s interesting, and anything that promotes harmony across the world is a good thing, but is it enough to make any difference?
Is it even supposed to?
It’s a game.
We like games…
If games are played in the spirit of unity, then all is well, but somehow they often become overcomplicated and end up in a big mess.
Talking of a big mess, my weight is something I was beginning to get over, mostly because I’m no longer losing it.
I’ve gained enough now to be able to eat what I like without worrying.
I’m just hoping there are no lasting repercussions from this Chinese take-out, which has decided, for whatever reason, to leave me alone… for now.
I’m disappointed, tired and frustrated that the start to today has been so painful, but it is what it is.
I’ll have a good rest and come out the other side radiant.
Happy days.
Come on England.
Take care.
