A year ago we were living in West Yorkshire, a family of four. I’d come to the conclusion that we weren’t going to have our longed for next baby as I’d rounded off a terrible year with my third miscarriage. I’d given in my notice and finished work at the Montessori school, and didn’t really know what was going to happen next.
Seems so long ago and so very different. We upped sticks and moved to Suffolk, moving into what had been Tim’s dad’s house. It was meant to be a temporary move while we sold our old house in Derbyshire, but we’ve managed to do that and we’ve bought out Tim’s brother, so this Christmas was our first in our very own house.
This town suits us – there’s pretty much everything we need within walking distance. Note – my definition of walking distance seems to be a bit longer than most ppl’s 😉 It’s just over a mile to the swimming pool, which is the longest distance we walk regularly, but in the summer we walked that anywhere up to three times a week as we spent a huge amount of time on the beach beside it.
We discovered that the beach is a pretty good draw and had a good succession of visitors, both family and friends. Next year we’re hoping to adapt the house a little and we’ve already cut down a big hedge in the garden, so there’s plenty of camping space for anyone who’d like a return trip or anybody who hasn’t tried it out yet 🙂
The kids have started to make friends, and that’s rolled over to me as well. Tonight we’re invited to a new year/ birthday party at the mother of one of Big’s brownie pack, and assuming Tim’s up to it, we’ll be going down in an hour or so. Was considering walking but it’s kind of cold and I suspect walking back at midnight with tired children might be asking rather a lot. It’s not as if I’d have been having a lot to drink anyway.
That would be because of the biggest change of the year. As I packed up the house in West Yorkshire, I realised that I was pregnant, and sitting in a forest in Essex I thought I was losing this baby too. I was wrong. The pregnancy was successful, and in November we welcomed Smallest-of-all to the world (and the blog). She’s a lovely baby, just beginning to be really smily, even though she’s got a horrid cold just now. She’s nocturnal, and if I were trying to work, or carting children to school life would be very difficult. But instead Tim and I are both at home at least for the moment, he’s fabulously supportive, Big is great at cuddling Soa when she needs it and I am loving this extra special chance at parenthood that I didn’t think I was going to get.
Big and Small seem to like our new house and town too. They have Beavers, Brownies and swimming, in the New Year we’ll be going to a home ed music group and we’ve a support group we attend every other week, although funnily enough we haven’t been for a month or so now 😉 We fitted in the usual trips out and about as well, with two parties at the Beans, camping in Yorkshire, and much visiting of English Heritage (especially Framlingham castle) and National Trust properties. Our trip to Festival of History was sadly cut short – one year we’ll make the whole thing without associated complications. Closer to home there was Forest School and lots of time with Em and WF and others of the local home educators. We’ve plenty to build on in our new life, and I’m very hopeful which is not something I would have said this time last year.
So here’s to 2010 – 2009 wasn’t that bad for us but I’m still hoping that 2010 will be even better. Maybe not quite so full of change though 😉
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