In the spirit of Yvonne’s publication of her email to me on the matter of her having a shit week, here’s the email I bashed out during a precious moment of Astrid-sleep. I’d been planning a week of feeling (home)sick post – and, just like Yvonne’s, my email was destined to become a (highly unedited stroke rushed) blog post.
Astrid – on the mend
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Hi you,
I just read your email again.
Ah well, at least it’s funny at the same time as being bloody awful.
I was up vomiting the other night. Astrid was up vomiting 4 nights running.
Kevin got it. He was up vomiting the same night as me and I begged him to go to work – he got a new contract immediately [ note to blog readers; Kevin got sacked for being off sick with Astrid’s last bug, just a couple of weeks ago, and because he was still in his probationary period there wasn’t much to be done ] – it’s for 5 weeks and so possibly no work over xmas but who knows. But yes, Kevin went to work ALL WEEK. I have been thinking about writing a blog post called, Kevin our hero, or something like that. Because to manage a week of work feeling like that makes him a bloody marvel. And it makes me love him even more because he did it for our little family.
Yes, so Astrid’s at home while we still pay for childcare and Kevin’s work is, well, uncertain. But he can always get work easily anyway. It’s just a bit scary with me not working, out, earning regular money – which was the point of us coming here – and Christmas coming up.
But that is us to a tee. Life on the edge and all that. Ha. Neither of us are the kind to stay somewhere – especially not when there are idiots running the show. Today I resisted a dress on sale at Whistles, which would have been perfect (ie it would fit the bump and look nice). So next week i AM going to make myself those robe rouge dresses I keep promising myself, from the marc jacobs cashmere and the cotton jersey I bought before we came here.
I cancelled my wallpaper subscription about half an hour after ordering it. In a way i really enjoy living on a super tight budget. And all these postal taxes and charges are really, really helping! And i am supposed to go on maternity leave as of monday, and suff is NOT finished. Because I’ve lost two weeks work out of the past four due to having Astrid home sick. And i am desperate to make all this stuff I’ve got lined up.
Including stuff for you which i bought just the best ever linen you’ll love and things like linen ribbon for MONTHS ago and haven’t had time to make yet. I’ve also got dolls designed, little aprons to make up, baby bags, baby blankets to sew and knit, treasure pouches to be sewn, cards to be bagged up, a set of cards to gocco up and a shop to open.
I had a blog contest before we left Auckland and the poor old winners still haven’t got their stuff. Although I’ve got a little pile going. I suppose that’s just the way a+b contests work. Run the contest really early. And send the prizes out on time. On time being at least six months later. If not longer. Hmm. Not convincing.
And to top it all off, well, the above made me really homesick – especially as Kevin would have got that promotion in Auckland – and then a friend emailed saying come home. And then I got really homesick.
… but then it snowed. It really snowed. We were all too sick to go out, but we looked out the window and there were big huge fluffy snowflakes falling. And they blanketed everything. A proper, big, snow. And I thought also we’ll visit you in Spring, definitely. We’ll rent a car and drive over. And go to Provence next Summer. Because that’s why we came here. To shop at Muji and Liberty and Loop and Upper Street and Selfridges and Heals and Marimekko and Borough and Spitalfields and Brick Lane, to do some amazing work to put on our CVs, to see snow, to live by the Heath again, to visit you, to take Astrid to France in the Summer, to walk everywhere and to learn to knit at Loop. So instead of wishing we were back home the snow reminded me to enjoy where we are.
It’s been a shit week hasn’t it! At least I’ve got some knitting in. And your house will be brilliant once it’s all done. As I always say, everything is always over in the end. Now it really is high time I sent you your chin up package.
x
ps. Astrid is starting to talk now. This morning she pointed at everything in the kitchen cupboard and wanted to look at everything in detail and know its name.
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