littlepea
I know what you mean, wondering about what might have been (several mc here). Abbey is a beautiul name
My dad died of bowel cancer in 1995, 3 days after the last of my finals. We'd known about it since 1992, he had an op to remove a massive tumour but it had already spread to his liver. We were v v close. When I was 18 months old, I was in an accident that caused a serious skull fracture and I was not expected to live. This was later revised to say I'd live but would be profoundly physically and mentally disabled-it wasn't initially realised that I'd fractured my skull so they started operating thinking it was something else and brain tissue was exposed.
I spent months and months in hospital and my dad basically moved in and barely left my side, always reading to me. I'd been a v quiet baby and suddenly, one day when he was reading to me, I started pointing at things in the book and calling out their names. They got a specialist in to assess the level of my disability and I babbled my way through a book in front of him-he told my parents to take me home, I was more intelligent than him and was fine! It seems I'd been born with an unusually soft skull, hence the fracture.
Have loved books ever since- me and my dad would spend hours in the Green Bookshop each Saturday then come home and just sit together reading our seperate books. Both him and my mum were ex-army (him a training seagent, God help those poor recruits!)and he taught me how to iron-its his fault I'm such a perfectionist with ironing (and that I love it so. Oh balls, I've made myself cry.
My SIL is all sweetness in front of family and was genuinely excited for us throughout my pg but has got incredibly competitive re the children/ and esp her mum,since. She's fairly threatened I think. It would not have killed her to ever pick up the phone and ask how we are but she has not once bothered to, and thats knowing how tough things have been w Joe. She has also said some v hurtful things. We knew each other in school and were fine, got on okish before Joe was born, it's pretty much since he's been born that things have gone downhill. MIL is aware we have a problem but stays out of it. I have to say I'm happier in myself now contact is at a minimum but I get incredibly sad about it sometimes. I feel bad for dh because he's so embarrased about her behaviour. There is masses more to this but I can't say too much more on a public forum and she's also a FB friend.
Anyhow onto happier things-I have booked a summer holiday! Just a week away in the Lake District but we re sooooo in need of it. Not to mention strategic decision re dodgy volcano mucking up flights through the summer.
How is weaning going everyone? Joe doesn't like fish at all and isn't too keen on lamb either
fidelma What is the weather like up with you later in the year and can you send me a link to your cottages again? I can't work through all 900+ posts of the other threads to find it - although started to read our ante-natal threads again when looking for link and had a soppy moment.
Sorry for long rambling post everyone