A Twist On The Ending

After 19 months of being home constantly with mammy and daddy, Bethany was to spend her first night away from us last night...however without a hitch it was not!

Bethany went off with my dear friend Jo who has two gorgeous children called Sammy and David. Bethany waved goodbye as she headed off down the drive-way and a lump formed in my throat and my emotions took over. In that split second my little girl had gone off without me for the first time since being here, and it tore at my heart.

After a good half hour of crying I was able to pull myself together slightly, realising that after all this time of forming friendships and building up trust, Bethany would be fine with my amazing friend as she would look after her as if she was one of her own.

Michael arrived home from work and we sat round not really knowing what to do. Should we go to the cinema? A meal out maybe? But sadly before we could decide we were hit with some sad news...Jo called to say her Nana had died.

Poor Jo and her family were devastated and with their Nana being in Rotorua (which is over 6 hours of driving away) decisions needed to be made. I spoke to Jo many times on the phone that night, after sitting out in the car in the garage ready to go get Bethany, Jo reassured us it was best to leave Bethany there as she was already in bed. We very reluctantly agreed - I mean what a time for us to lumber Jo and her family with our child!

But along came 11pm and along came the phone call. Bethany woke herself up coughing and then started crying - so off we went back to the city to collect her. Jo and her poor family were all up when we got there, they were packing for the early trip to Rotorua the next day. One good thing though was that I got to give Jo a much needed cuddle - even if it was at midnight!

Finally at 12.30am we arrived home with one tired little girl. Bethany suddenly thought it was morning time and took some time to settle again. After the whole bedtime routine being re-run she finally fell asleep around 1am.

However despite the night, guess who came bounding in our room just before 7am this morning!!

Our thoughts are with Jo and her family, I no longer have Grandparents but Michael has a wonderful Nana in England who we love so very much. Tears prick to my eyes at the grief Jo and her family must be feeling and thoughts we can't bare to think of which are currently banished from our minds - for now.

So in the space of a few hours lives changed dramatically. Happiness, sadness, separation, anxiety, trust, worry and finally grief. A little girl had her first experiences that she may remember forever, parents fought with emotions, and a family grieved.

A hell of a lot for one small day.