Another year draws to a close and for the first time in many years we are actually getting seasonal weather. Snow and cold weather seems to be blanketing much of Europe, North America and little ol’ us and again the country grinds to a halt. At least it makes everywhere seems a lot prettier, what a fantastic way to usher in the new decade. Yes, the new decade! Unbelievably another decade draws to a close and new one is just around the corner (or probably already here by the time you are reading this). And what a decade it has been both personally and in world events.
The world has changed significantly during the noughties (not sure what the new decade will be called: Twenty-Tens; Tweens; Tenties probably won’t find out until the retrospective TV programmes and newspaper articles of 2019) almost as significantly as my life. I don’t think that I need to re-iterate the major world events of the last ten years as I think we could name the most notable and infamous incidents. From a personal point of view this decade as seen me promoted (twice – more later); buy a house; sell a house; fall in love; get engaged; get married and become a father. I’ve visited a number of incredibly beautiful places around the world, made new friends, lost some friends, cemented older relationships and incredibly now support a team that has been in the Premier League and been seen in a F.A. Cup semi-final.
As mentioned above I have been promoted at work so as of the 1st January 2010 I will be Head of Live Operations at mediahouse, for IMG. This will include responsibility for all our live programming clients , including Premier League (worldwide distribution), Football League (for the BBC) and ESPN to name a few. It is an exciting position and as I will be moving to a five day week (although not necessarily Mon-Fri 9-5) it means I will be able to see Éowyn everyday which will mean so much more now she is becoming more aware as she is growing up.
We have been a little busy since the last update, hence the delay between this and the previous update so forgive me if I omit some of the finer details. Like everyone much of the latter part of December has been gearing up to Christmas and all the malarkey that is associated with it. Unfortunately (or fortunately depending on your point of view) Éowyn is still a little too young to appreciate all that is going on. although she did begin to take an interest in the Christmas tree and the presents underneath it. The only decoration that is was interested in, though, was a Christmas bell. For some reason she took a shine to it and kept taking it off the tree and either giving it to one of us or putting it in her toybox.
As befitting new parents we didn’t really go out and celebrate the way many of our single and younger friends did. However we did get ourselves glammed up and her to Royal Holloway College for a Christmas Dinner Dance. And so that we could enjoy ourselves my Mom (and Sister Liz) made the trip down (fortunately the Snow had eased by that point) and baby-sat for the evening. Again I’m not sure who enjoyed themselves the most: Lucinda and I, Éowyn or Nanny Fran and Auntie Liz? It was a close call.
Nanny Fran stepped to the rescue for child-minding duties again over Christmas. Being shift workers Bank Holidays (including Christmas) mean nothing in the jobs either Lucinda or I do, in fact they can be the busiest times for both of us. This year we were both down to work Boxing Day (26th December for non-UK residents) and the day after. So we decided to ask Nanny Fran to look after Éowyn for those days. Therefore we decided to drive to West Bromwich on Christmas Day, have Christmas day with my mom and sister (and Éowyn’s Great-Great Uncle Albert), leave Éowyn with Nanny Fran and pick her up after our shifts had finished. Although it was a lot of driving it was really nice and meant that we had two Christmasses.
As it was a little difficult to see Lucinda’s parents on Christmas day and drive to West Bromwich, we decided that we would have Christmas day with them and Lucinda’s brother on Christmas Eve. So we invited them around our house and I cooked a roast pork (we didn’t want Turkey two days on the bounce) dinner and we opened presents. We thank our lucky stars that we are both so close to our families and it is a shame that my family is not closer for such occasions, although Nanny Fran is seeing an awful lot of Éowyn recently, which we are most grateful for.
As for Éowyn she was obviously a little too young to understand Christmas, but she did see Father Christmas (with Jo, her child-minder) but was scared of him (fair enough, he is a bit of a strange character) and got into the swing of opening presents. She wasn’t really bothered about the presents as such, but enjoyed ripping the paper off (although some people wrap their presents a little too officiously). In fact she would rip the paper off, then rip it again and hand you each little bit. That will soon change, no doubt. We would like to thank everyone that sent us a card or bought us a present and especially to those of you who bought Éowyn a present, she is lucky to have you all, as are we.
I wish all of you a light filled 2010 and all the best for the coming decade. In the words of Ann Landers: ‘Let this coming year be better than all the others. Vow to do some of the things you’ve always wanted to do but couldn’t find the time. Call up a forgotten friend. Drop an old grudge, and replace it with some pleasant memories. Vow not to make a promise you don’t think you can keep. Walk tall, and smile more. You’ll look ten years younger. Don’t be afraid to say, ‘I love you’. Say it again. They are the sweetest words in the world.’
Peace and Love
Baggie and Lucy xxx
