Monday, October 21, 2019

Checking In

After dropping our bad news bomb last week, I thought I'd check in. Overall, we are doing ok. Turns out buying a house and preparing to sell a house is a really good distraction. My physical recovery has not been bad at all. The emotional recovery will take time. We're giving ourselves grace during this time and I'm allowing myself to feel all the feeling. We've been so surrounded by love. Our table has several flower arrangements and we've received lots of cards, emails, and text messages. We are so lucky to have such supportive and caring family and friends.

On Saturday we went out to Grandma Joan's for the afternoon. We brought Oscar out to stay with her until after the move. She's stayed out there plenty of times before but this will be her longest stay as she'll be there for about a month. She cried a lot while Phil mowed/collected leaves outside. :( I hope she adjusts quickly. Grandma Joan adores Oscar so I know she's in good hands and will get sooooo many treats! She won't let Joan touch her (really, only Phil can touch her - she will initiate contact with me by jumping into my lap but doesn't really let me touch her otherwise!) but she gets lots of play time with Joan and more human company than she gets at home since Joan is home all day. Oscar isn't a fan of being alone so I know she'll enjoy her time out there.

Paul spent some time in grandma's lap looking at books...


Joan pulled out Phil's matchbox cars and Paul had fun lining them up. This little boy loves anything with wheels!


On Sunday, we woke up to a beautiful fall day - finally! Saturday was nice, too, but Sunday was just absolutely perfect. We had a slow morning indoors with lots of book reading.

Then we headed outdoors to get some pictures of Paul for our Christmas card. Here are a few out-takes. He was a very, very good sport and we got a really great picture for our card!


We continued on our walk and then Phil encouraged me to take a picture with Paul. I have tons of pictures of Paul but very few WITH Paul. I need to be better about taking photos together. I almost didn't take a picture with him as I wasn't wearing make-up and was wearing super casual clothes. But I sure am glad we took this picture as it turned out perfectly! I'm so thankful for this little boy - he's been the best source of light and love while we are grieving.


In the afternoon, we headed out for a Halloween event with my mom's group. I had to wake Paul up from his nap. He had napped for 2 hours and 20 minutes which is a super long nap but I think he was still tired as he was a very quiet, serious duck!



It was fun to see Paul's little buddies. 6 of the 8 moms/toddlers in our group were able to come to the event. We got the toddlers to all sit on a bench - getting them to smile just wasn't possible but you take what you get when it comes to toddlers.


All in all, it was a good weekend. We close on our new house this Friday, list ours on November 7th, and will move on November 22nd so I think the coming month is going to be quite the whirlwind. I'm grateful for the distraction and excitement that our big move is providing.

11 comments:

The Many Thoughts of a Reader said...

The picture of you and Paul is adorable!

Marlys said...

Great pictures! I love the ones of the toddlers on the bench. It would be fun to get yearly ones of them to see how they change over time.
I'm glad you have Paul to cheer you up and the move definitely will keep you mind occupied these next few weeks.

missris said...

The picture of you two is just precious!

Jeanie said...

Good move, leaving Oscar with Joan. You won't have to worry about opening and closing doors and her getting in boxes or whatever. I ADORE that photo of you and Paul. Both actually, but especially the one on the walk. That's a keeper -- you look radiant and he looks just darling!

Gracie said...

Kids in costume are the cutest! Even if they're serious. Keep healing and keep grieving as you need to - I'm thinking about you.

Leigh said...

Love the picture of you and Paul! Even in no makeup and casual clothes, it's a great picture. He is such a serious duck! Haha

San said...

I am so glad you have little Paul to keep you smiling... although healing from a loss like this will take time.

Lana said...

Your pictures are adorable! So sorry to hear about your loss. I randomly discovered your blog a while ago, when I was pregnant with my daughter (who's now almost two-and-a-half). I've enjoyed following along here and there, and I appreciate how real and candid you are. I life in the San Francisco Bay Area, but sometimes relocating to Minneapolis - seems like such a lovely place to raise a family (not to mention a more reasonable cost of living).

Stephany said...

I'm glad you have moving + Paul as a good distraction during this time. <3 It's such a hard loss to go through, especially because not everyone talks about miscarriage and the grief it brings with it! I'm grateful that you're opening up about this, though I know it's super hard.

Ugh, all of these Paul pictures are so sweet! Between his plaid shirt and all the fall leaves to his Halloween costume and grumpy face! Love them all. :)

Amber said...

So glad you have moving and Paul to distract you. The fall photos of Paul turned out so so cute! These little toddlers really are the funniest and best distraction from crappy stuff.

Jolene - EverydayFoodie said...

That's wonderful that you have so much love and support from your family and friends, and that Paul has been a source of joy during the grieving process.

This month will definitely be a whirlwind! Hang on!

Very smart of Phil to encourage you to get into the photo. I cherish all the photos that I have where I am with my mom in the picture; there aren't too many.