Motivation Returns...

Well Chaps, been away for a while. Bereavement is an unknown quantity in every person....for me it manifested itself in exhaustion and lack of motivation but most importantly a deep desire to spend time with my children. I suppose all of these things are understandle having spent 18 months caring for my husband David. I have been extremely fortunate in that I was able to to the time out I needed. My sincere thanks go to Louise and team of family and friends at www.huddleandbliss.com for taking care of everything whilst I did what I needed to. As a result I believe that my two boys have come through this trauma amazingly. Being open with them, although heart-wrenchingly difficult, was the best thing I did. The passing of their father was not a shock to them. Children need to been treated the same as adults in these circumstances and given the information and tools they need to cope. Whilst what and how you tell them things needs to be carefully considered, it must be done. Hence me and my boys are good. We have had our dark days and we miss David terribly but we are living our lives to the full...which is definitely what he would have wanted.

And so my motivation now appears to have returned! Finally! And what better time to get back into work full on than as the boys begin a new year at school? It just feels right. So I am warming up at the moment and will be back full time on 6th September. I am so looking forward to it. We have the Earls Court Baby Show coming up. This year we have two stands. In addition to the usual huddle & bliss stand we are our luxury hospital bag, The h&b 48 Hour Bag, the spotlight it deserves...a stand all of its own! I think it gets a little lost in amongst all the other beautiful baby clothes and products on the huddle and bliss stand....so an opportunity to set it apart. As popular as ever with celebrities and famous faces, we are only sad that we can't tell you all about them due to privacy issues! Many of these wonderul pre-packed hospital bags are bought by the dads-to-be. I would be ecstatic to receive one.

We have a couple of new people coming on board which is really exciting....particularly as one of them is a man!!! Oh dear, how will he cope with the team of confident working mums at huddle and bliss? I hope he has thick skin and a good sense of humour. He is a Dad of two with another on the way so will be giving us a good insight into the father's perspective. I hope he gets his wife a 48 hour bag!!!

Sx

Making a Come Back....finally

Well my last post was in December when I said that I would be taking some time out with boys...and that is exactly what I have done. But I am back at work and raring to go...so watch this space!

I'll Be Back!

Will be back soon - Taking some time out with my boys following the sad passing of my husband in October. We won the battles but ultimately lost the war. Memories last forever.

Sherry xx

The Irony of Life

I gave blood for the first time today. I have been meaning too for a while, but as with many of our intentions they never come to fruition or they take a long time! A year ago my husband received a blood transfusion. At that point I vowed that I would give blood. It has taken me a while but I got there eventually. I was booked in to do so a few weeks ago, but my husband was rushed into hospital so I had to cancel. I rebooked for today. It always makes me smile when life's situations create coincidences that have a certain irony! I knew last week that my husband was going to be in hospital today but I did not find out until late yesterday that he would be having 3 units of blood transfused. So there I was laying on my bed as a virginal blood donor whilst my husband lay in his hospital bed several miles away receiving his blood. His transfusion will give him the strength he needs to start his next round of treatment and fight on. Did you know that one unit of blood can save 3 lives? I read that somewhere this evening. I just want to give back and contribute to the gift that my husband has received from some kind and unknown individual somewhere.

You see we could all need blood at some point. It is natural for us to always think things happen to other people. To associate transfusions with life-threatening accidents and surgery and avoid thinking that the need for someone else's blood could possibly apply to our own lives or those of the loved ones around us. But we never know what life holds. I can vouch for that.

Nearly everyone I spoke to today had a story, a reason as to why they were there. Mostly it was due to a loved one receiving a transfusion, a newly born child, a family member with cancer, a friend who had major surgery or someone they know having a life-saving transfusion following a bad accident. Whatever the reason they were mostly there because there was some event or person in their life that had suffered, needed blood and they recognised what the gift of blood can do. The same applies to me. As humans we often need an emotional catalyst to spurn us into action. It is not that we don't care, its just that until such things touch our own lives we tend to plod on blissfully unaware of the need.

My husband has obviously not received my blood today - he is a different blood group anyhow! But in some small way I feel like I have given back what has been used for him today. I will be a loyal and regular donor. Yes I have an aching and bruised arm but someone somewhere will benefit tremendously. So if you have never been a blood donor and are fit and able please give it some thought, you could truly be giving the gift of life to someone somewhere when they desperately need it.


Become a donor

Batman is in the house

My youngest is currently infatuated with his batman outfit. It was a hand-me-down from a relative and is a little faded and raggedy but he adores it. Yesterday morning he could be seen playing 'his version' of chess, full dressed as Batman, complete with shopping bag and crocs...and eye-catching combination to say the least. In fact my youngest is very particular about what he wears. He has never liked slogans or pictures on his clothing generally and from around the age of two he has often asserted what his choice of outfit for the day was to be. He took this to a new level a couple of days ago when, now 5, he insisted on selecting his entire outfit for the day without any assistance whatsoever. Well not sure if I have a little fashion diva (suppose it is divo for a boy!) but he came down in a completely co-ordinated look. Navy shorts, yellow and navy striped polo shirt and a pale yellow Ralph Lauren jumper to complete the look! He even went as far as to explain why he had selected each item and how it complimented the look! He fell somewhat short by then selecting his bright turquoise crocs as footwear, but hey you have to have practical footwear for the garden.

But yesterday, well it was a Batman day. He even insisted on putting the outfit back on after his shower - well it is the school holidays and I am in a lenient mood...what harm will it do for him to sleep in his Batman gear if that is what he wants? He slept until 8am this morning so he obviously wasn't uncomfortable - we did of course forego the cape and the mask for bed in case any of you are worrying - I also made him leave his Batmobile on the driveway!

Not sure how long batman will be around for this morning, but he is definitely 'in the house' at the moment. Have a feeling a pirate may visit or perhaps Spiderman (complete with foam six pack), he has been absent for a while!

Motherly Destruction....

Oh dear - I feel so guilty. In one fair swoop I managed to destroy the Ark of the Covenant and a digeridoo. Yes I know it sounds strange, it sounds even more bizarre when I tell you I did it with the roof of my mini! Rather easily explained though I am afraid...sunny day, convertible car, arms full of childrens things amidst school run....so put things on roof...hey presto! Amazingly neither myself or my two sons realised what had happenend until we reached Waitrose a while later...we found the remnants of the digeridoo on the ground by the rear of the car. The Ark of the Covenant and the digeridoo had been lovely made by my eldest son at school. I am obviously biased, but he is such a sweet and loving boy, when we realised what had happened I could tell he was very disappointed but he put his arm around me and said 'Don't worry Mama, you couldn't help it, it was an accident'. What a darling. Despite this I felt awful and desperately searched for fragments of each item in the hope that we could perhaps reconstruct them at home with some TLC and glue! Alas this was not possible. Somehow his kindness made me feel even more guilty, but I was so proud of his attitude, amazing for a seven year old. One of my friends is a teaching assistant in my son's class - I told her what happened and her comments made my guilt plunge to new depths. Not only had my boy had to make the Ark of the Covenant unaided, he had to draw it to scale and build it from plan - a fine feat for a child his age. So how bad do I feel? Off the scale. But my gorgeous little boy made me proud and realise that it is okay for mummies to make mistakes too!

1989

I read an article about 1989 in the Times Sunday Magazine. Now as a lady I don't want to give too much about my age away, but in 1989 I was in my early adult years and remember a lot of what they talk about in the article. It was also a key time in terms of relationships....whilst our friendship remained platonic for a number of years, it was in 1989 that I first met and became friends with my adorable husband. We were both working for a Japanese bank in the City - so the article's mention of Sushi having no equal in the City was very apt for us! There was not the conveyor belt service that you can get today, but with so many large Japanese banks in London and so many of their staff, great Japanese restaurants were not difficult to find. I particularly like Tatsuso in Broadgate, not sure if it is still there now?

I think sushi was one of the more upmarket elements of 1989....but I do remember watching the Simpsons when it was new and hip. I remember watching 'the scene' from 'When Harry Met Sally' and the dawning of the chick flick. I loved 'Love Shack' by the B52's and vaguely remember dancing to it with a group of friends apres ski in Austria - all a bit worse for wear - okay, off our faces dancing on a table, we were young! The sound of the Fine Young Cannibals singings She Drives Me Crazy also resonated in the background of many a night out. My father and brothers laughed out loud to Blackadder - I just didn't see what all the fuss was about it at the time - but now I too cry with laughter. A rare case of being thankful for the re-runs.

Bodies - yes those tops like a leotard with poppers underneath....nice smooth line, no riding up - yes I wore those too, but they were bloody uncomfortable! They do not feature in my current wardrobe...and haven't done since!

Dirty Den was killed off in Eastenders, sorry but I wish they had killed off the entire programme. Having been born in the East End of London I am afraid it bears no resemblence to my memories of living there until I was 10 years old, and I have never known a more miserable programme to grace our screens.

Finally we come to shell suits....the nemesis of many a photo album no doubt! I honestly did not wear one of these - at the time I thought they were somewhat of a fire hazard let alone a walking fashion disaster. However my then husband did sport a rather un-fetching purple and black one on occasion - perhaps that is one of the reasons I divorced him soon after!

So many memories!