Reasons to be glad #2

Friends.

A bit like my husband my friends have put up with the ups and downs, the good and the bad and all the crazy. They have been there planning my wedding in 3 months instead of a year because I got pregnant (opps!). They have been there through the repeated break ups and make ups with boyfriends, they have helped me move house a gazillion times and they have been supportive of whatever crazy creative craft endeavour I’ve suggested. They have even come over and helped me when I’m sat weeping into a pile of fabric and thread.

My friends supported me through the ups and downs of pregnancy offering support and sympathy eating with me. They have listened to my birth story a million times, each time being supportive and non judgemental.

Sometimes it feels hard to be honest with friends because I don’t want to bore them with the same old crap and people have their own stuff they don’t need to hear mine over and over on top of that. Sometimes it feels unfair to talk about birth AGAIN because I don’t want to sound like motherhood is some awful thing that happened especially when talking to people who have just started this journey or are about to.  

I have been really surprised by the warm, supportive response this blog has received particularly by my friends. I’ve got to admit there was a part of me that sort of cringed when I knew people had read it, especially some of the more honest bits. No one had to read it, even the people that I cheekily asked to. No one had to like it or comment but people did/do and it has helped me feel a little more ‘normal’ and not feel so ashamed about how I am feeling. It has been a great relief to be 100% honest, to talk about my fears, my low points and my high points and have other people to share this with.

Thank you to my friends who continue on this journey with me. Thank you to the friends that have txt me at 3am when Alice won’t sleep, to the friends who have arranged a catch up and some grown up time, to the friends that have listened to my verbal diarrhoea over a cup of tea. Thank you to the friends who celebrated my birthday with cake at midnight on a night shift, to the friends who dress up as Batman villains and eat Subway with me, and to the friends who have discussed baby poop with me.

Thank you for making the bad days a little easier, the good days a little brighter and for helping me to see the funny side of life.