Today Tom discovered Super Golf!

Tristan and Tom arrived at Super Golf after Elwyn, Jeanette, Christopher and Rob. Tom got out of the car and looked around, checking out this new place. Then he recognised Rob and a grinned; then Elwyn and a wider grin. By the time he got to Christopher he was burbling!

He wanted to carry and throw all the balls, so scoring was interesting. Looking at the scorecard we wonder if it was accurate.

After chasing all those balls he was pretty tired by half way round. So Tristan went back to his car and got the pram. Tom rode round the rest of the course in state!

It was a good outing:-)

It began with Tristan arriving at our place to pick up his boy and take him home, giving Rob a Father’s Day hug before he left. Jeanette arrived with Rob’s present – a heart-shaped chocolate cake, which we enjoyed during our sail.

This year, Elwyn being here for Father’s Day and it being a beautiful day, we celebrated by sailing from Fremantle to Rockingham and meeting Challis for lunch. So for Rob, Elwyn, Jeanette and I it was a gorgeous sail on Dusky Dolphin, one of those sparkly days with a moderate wind, flat water and smooth, fast sailing.

We attached the boat to a mooring at Rockingham and dinghied in to the beach. After a short wait at the cafe Challis arrived, all smiles and hugs. It was lovely to share that time with her, especially for Elwyn who wouldn’t see her again for a long time. So good food and lots of chatter, remembering times like when we all wnet camping with Challis and Digger, and various times when Challis had taken care of our children. She is such a good part of our family…

As we dinghied back out to Dusky Dolphin, Challis walked out to the end of the jetty. “Let’s do a sail by the jetty,” we decided! So somehow in that good breeze we detached from the mooring with sails up, turned the boat and sailed close by the jetty, waving to Challis as we did so. Then sharp turn northwards for a romping sail back to Fremantle.

It was a good day:-)

Perhaps it was a good thing that none of knew what was in store when Tom was delivered to us that morning…

True to their word, Tristan and Blaine arrived at our house about 9am on Monday 28th August with Tom and all his gear. Blaine, being the very organised Mum that she is, had already cooked and delivered to us some little frozen portions of Tom’s favourite meals. So they arrived with his pyjamas (jungle style), dark blue dressing gown ( a tiny version of Tristan’s), lots of changes of clothes, fresh food such as the fruit he loves, and a big bag of changes of clothes for Tristan. While we (Tristan, Elwyn and I) sat in the back garden under those trees that have grown  with all our children, Blaine spent some very precious quiet time with her little boy, not knowing when she would have the chance to do this again.

Then, at 10am, Tristan and Blaine left, with Tom sobbing in my arms as we waved goodbye. It seemed as if Tom sensed the tension of both his parents. They were both very pale, facing up to the caesarean section and arrival of Alythea, and we felt for them.

Tom soon quietened as we put him in his pram and wheeled him around to the playground. It has changed a lot since we first took Jeanette there many years ago. The whirly gig, big metal swings and high metal slide have been slowly replaced by safer plastic and more interesting items. However Tom had slipped on the higher playgym the previous day, so there were still bits to watch out for. With watchful hands around him he made his circuit: around the lower tube slide, turn the big balls on poles like an abacus, play “I see Tom” through the gaps and perspex inlays, climb the steps to then slide down the open lower slide, then off the say “Ducks” to the ducks. A very brief turn on the higher slide, which was good because he curved round as he slid. By now his usual wide grin and accompanying chuckle was well and truly back!

Elwyn put him on her shoulders for a walk right around the lake. After watching the ducks for a while he relaxed and nestled forward into Elwyn’s hair, just as one of her finches had done when we kept a flock of them in an aviary in our back yard. It seemed that he was letting Tristan and Blaine go and do what needed to be done.

It was back to our place for lunch. He did that bit really well, tucking in to everything we gave him. Then he settled down without a peep for a long nap in his cot with his favourite monkey soft toy. While Elwyn and I recovered over our own lunch, Tristan sms’d us that their daughter Alythea had been born:-) And he sent a photo (see “Welcome to the World, Alythea”).

By late in the day, around 5:30, Tom knew that Tristan and Blaine would not be coming. He steeled himself to be brave. I sensed his effort and gave him a big hug. After dinner he had a good play in the bath. Jeanette and Christopher turned up and put him to bed. He was a bit sad but settled OK.

Elwyn and Tiger moved into the library for the week, so Tom had his own room and only woke them once during the night when he had crawled out from his covers.

While Rob and I went for our walk Elwyn put Tom into his dark blue dressing gown that’s just like Tristan’s and fed him. “He looks like Yoda” was her delighted comment. By the time they had got through toast and vegemite, Tom helping to put vegemite on the toast, then lots of baby cereal with his formula milk, Tom, Elwyn, the high chair, the vegemite jar and the floor were a mess! We cleaned it up later…

Tristan turned up around 8:30 and of course Tom was overjoyed! They had a good play, and Tristan had some brekkie. Then Tom was very brave and had a big hug from me when Tristan left to return to hospital; Blaine was in pain after her caesarean and needed his help with handling Alythea. After Tom’s nap we all bundled into 2 cars (with Jeanette and Christopher) and drove to the hospital to meet Alythea. We were allowed into the room 2 at a time, so spread ourselves between the visitor’s room and Blaine’s room. Alythea was sleepy, yet aware of us. Very like Tom but finer featured. I was allowed a hold – she’s a gentle energy.

Tristan came down to the car with us and said good-bye to Tom. Tom was very brave, until we got home and had dinner. Then, when we came to undress him for his bath he just lost it. So it was time to show Jeanette and Elwyn how I used to handle them when they got distraught. We let him sob until he’d finished, with lots of cuddles and soothing pats. A warm bath with more soothing strokes, cuddles and a bottle, and he settled for the night quite peacefully. And slept all night, to Elwyn’s delight!

The next few days were a routine of breakfast with Elwyn, and Jeanette a couple of times. Jeanette added to the “Yoda” story with bouncing in “Can I have breakfast with Yoda?”. After cleaning him up and dressing him, he would play for a bit then Tristan turned up. He would either stay at our place or take Tom out. Tom would have his mid-day nap at our place, then go to the hospital to see his family. Most afternoons we popped in to see Blaine and Alythea. Both the ladies were recovering well, although Blaine’s wound troubled her. Tristan and Tom would arrive at our place for an early dinner, then Tristan would bath Tom, both making LOTS of bubbles, before helping to settle him in his cot. Tristan spent every night at the hospital.

By Friday Tom was much more flexible. He was happy to hug all of us, and accepted any of us taking care of him. Since he had been so upset on Tuesday evening he was calmer about his world changing, and went with the flow much better. On Saturday Tristan took him to his swimming lesson, which he loved!

And on Sunday, Father’s Day, Tristan took his growing family home.

It was very quiet at our place the next morning.

We missed Tom.

The cats were very happy though…

Alythea Ruth Bramwell Campbell.

Her first name means “Truthful One”.

Her second name is after her great grandmother, mother of her Dad Tristan’s Dad, Rob.

Her third name is a maternal family name on her mother’s side.

Born at 13:54, 28th August 2006, Alythea weighed in at 8 pounds and 1 ounce. As she was pulled from the warm, dark womb that had been her home for almost 9 months, she yelled in indignation.

Tristan was very proud of his brave and pretty wife and lovely little daughter who eventually settled down to look at this new, bright world.

Later, Tristan looked up the star charts for Alythea:

“This baby name is representative of high intellectual and spiritual development. It’s bearers are people with a wide breadth of views. They are frequently charming, restless and impetuous. Decisiveness, will power and non-recognition of dogma are all part of their nature. They feel and perceive the world around them much deeper than others do. They hunger to help others and serve for humane purposes.”

Welcome to this world, Alythea:-)

Grandma Wendy X 2 now!

There we sat, Rob and I, with the family we had created with our love for each other: the bouncy Jeanette with her short chestnut hair and the thoughtful Christopher with his long, long, black hair. They are now living back in Perth after their 8 years in the UK. Tall, lovely Elwyn, here for a break from her sojourn in the UK. Tristan and Blaine, a devoted couple, and proud and loving parents of our darling Tom and their soon-to-born daughter. And joining us was my mother, Shirley Brine, the only survivor of Rob’s and my parents still with us. She loves to catch up with her grand-children and great-grand-children, and this was to be such an occasion.

Blaine had come up with this idea, so that my Mum could see everyone before the next grand-child arrived. A very thoughtful idea. She had chosen a cafe with an indoor playground so that Tom would have somewhere to play. We took turns in being with Tom as he climbed up and down and around.

The photos show a close and happy family, which is what we are.

I am in awe of what Rob and I have created!

On the 10th I said “Farewell” to my family, who all kindly gathered at the airport to see me off, and boarded a plane for Singapore then London then Edinburgh. With a 4-hour wait in London this was a very long journey, but the reward at the end was being picked up by Elly and her blue Clio outside Edinburgh airport. She had been up very early to drive from the Gloucestershire Moutaineering Club’s hut in Wales in time to meet me!

We spent just over a week together, travelling through Scotland and across to the Outer Hebrides (or Western Isles as some call them). Over 5 days we made our slow way from north to south of these wind-swept isles. It was a very absorbing experience. Our western “civilisation” is only a thin veneer over the original Celtic mythology and ways which almost ooze from the rocks here. This was apparent from day 1 when we wandered around the “Stone Henge of the Outer Hebrides”, the Callanish Stone Circle. And this was also a journey as mother and daughter. What an amazing place to take this journey.

We finished our time together back in Cheltenham, when Elwyn dropped me at the train station after we had spent the final night at her home – a gorgeous little nest which she has created out of a basement flat.

I took the train to Plymouth and Judy picked me up from the train station there. After the loss that she has suffered, it was good stay with her for over a week, chatting, walking together, sharing housework, shopping and visiting her friends, loving her dog Rosie and teaching her about her laptop computer. There is some bond we share, perhaps it’s just similar ways of looking at things… Whatever, time together is always like a continuing friendship for which I am truly grateful. One day I visited the Plymouth Mayflower Rotary Club – Rotary people are the same the world over, and it was as much a pleasure to meet this club as it is to attend my own club’s meetings.

Judy’s friend Di kindly put me up for my last night in UK. She has a flat in London, and picked me up from Paddington station in pouring rain, gave me dinner and a quiet place to sleep before taking me to the airport the following morning. I hope I can repay the favour some time.

And then I was back home. Rob had said he would be working the afternoon I arrived back in Perth, but there he was to greet me. A lovely surprise!

Yes, life is good.

Jane and Geoff Griffiths came for dinner tonight. Jane and I went to kindergarten together, and have been friends ever since. Our parents were friends too.

However when I called Jane on her birthday to wish her “Happy Birthday” she was sad because of the lack of contact she has with her parents these days. So I thought a get together was in order!

It was a great evening, full of stories of times we have shared, friendships we have shared and for Rob and Jane work they have shared in the hospitals.

Friends in need are friends in deed?

It’s time to go sailing. Although we’ve enjoyed lots of day sails it’s quite a while since we moved onto Dusky Dolphin.

So tomorrow we’re leaving for our very own Quindalup Cruise, albeit 3 months late, or 9 months early, whichever way you look at it!

This morning, when we were walking in Kings Park, I sensed a gap beside Frasers Restaurant. Then  the dreadful truth dawned on me – the beautiful old peppermint gum, beneath which we had celebrated our anniversary in January, was no more!

Oh no!

Today we gathered together, family and friends, to celebrate Tom’s first birthday!

In Tom’s back yard we chatted and shared this very special time. Even my sisters came, yes even Helen.

As the formalities began Tristan and Blaine gathered up their little boy and stood before us. They asked us to celebrate with them, which we did with lusty song.

Then they announced their news – in early Spring Tom would have a little brother or sister. As the cheers flowed I was quietly very relieved not to have to keep it a secret any more! It had been hard to keep such wonderful news to myself.

Yes, it was a very special day.