Friendship
Sunday, 24 August 2008

My summer holiday is coming to an end - about time, some might say!! Theoretically I have another week before term starts but the next five days will be taken up with an intensive rehearsal week for our forthcoming school production of 'Guys and Dolls'. As soon as the final performance is over, my maternity leave will be starting; I'm so excited and just hoping that Baby Merrick doesn't come early as the nursery is far from ready! We moved into our new house at the start of the summer and although there are plenty of empty boxes still to be moved to the garage and full ones to be put in the loft (I am clearly my mother's daughter!) it feels like home now, and I'm really grateful for the opportunity to spend a few weeks getting things unpacked and arranged where they look the nicest. We love being in a house rather than a flat; it's quiet, with lots more space and a gorgeous garden and natural light, and Mandu is enjoying scampering up and down stairs (though cream carpets and a black cat aren't the best combination). I'm in heaven because there's a library next door and a wonderful view from the window, and Ben was ready to move in the minute he spotted the garage and gas hob, so we're all happy!

Another big advantage is the fact that we now have three bedrooms instead of two, and it's been wonderful to have friends to stay recently without worrying that they are packed into the guest quarters like sardines. The picture underneath is as bad as it ever got (and we were literally on the verge of moving when it was taken) but it wasn't the most relaxing room to offer to our friends when they were kind enough to come and stay, and the new spare room is much more conducive to a good night's rest, with its pretty green colour scheme and sunlight streaming through the windows in the morning (well... on occasion!).

We've both been so touched by the number of our friends who have made the effort to come and stay and to spend time with us before the baby arrives. My oldest friend Rachael spent three days of her precious holiday time here; it was the first time we had spent on our own in the last couple of years, and it was wonderful to do absolutely nothing other than sit on the sofa with the Olympics on in the background, eating chocolate, shrieking with laughter, reminiscing about the last twenty years, sharing news and generally having a marathon catch-up session. Mandu adored her, she brought me sunflowers, and was incredibly kind and washed up and reorganised the dishes cupboard which is increasingly inaccessible to me these days! Thanks so much, my dear friend, for a wonderful time together! The day after she left, Jim came up from London for the Bank Holiday weekend, and the three of us have spent many happy hours playing Rock Band on Xbox since acquiring it on Saturday - it's fantastic fun and great to be able to play it together - even me, with my lack of gaming ability! My 'little' sister and her boyfriend Matt are visiting next week for a few days (I have a feeling the guinea pigs we are currently babysitting will get a lot of attention while they are here!), which will be lovely, and then our gorgeous friend Danielle is coming to stay for the last weekend of August. Having met up with Ben's friends from home and family at a recent wedding, and with most of my university friends during a hilarious reunion weekend in Leamington Spa, we feel as if we've managed to see almost everyone over the past few months, with a few more visits planned for September. It's been so nice to be able to spend time with so many special friends before our lives change completely, and we so much appreciate the journeys and effort that people have made. Thank you all.