Day +54: A "Me" Day, With Adults!

I can't remember the last time I had a whole day to myself, with no baby, no nappy bag, no pram, no husband. A day when it was just me and my handbag.

I can't remember the last time I went out carrying just a handbag.

But today, I had a whole day with my handbag, and I had only me to look after. And I thoroughly enjoyed myself.

Although we had Mina for a visit today, the plans for me to be out of the house for much of the day had been in place for weeks. I was feeling pangs of guilt about not being around for Mina's first visit to the house in 10 weeks, but I had places to be and people to see. Jonathan was ever so encouraging towards me being out and about today, so I gladly took him up on his offer to take care of business at home by himself.

I love you, Jonathan Francis Hill.

I had 2 things on the agenda today - a meeting with the Cheltenham Old Girls Association Committee in the city, and a late lunch with the ladies from Mothers Group. I had hoped to be able to get home for a short time between the two events to help with lunch, but in the end, I had to go from one thing to another, and fortunately, Jonathan was fine with that.

We all got up early this morning, and while Jonathan was out collecting Mina from her house, I gave Sean his breakfast before getting ready to leave. Jonathan arrived home with Mina just after 8.30am, and it was really lovely to see her. Mina had grown at least 5cm in the past 10 weeks, and she was now a long and lean whippet. All her front teeth had fallen out (Mina only had 2 front teeth - the front four teeth became rotten after she was given acidic pickles to bite on while teething, and they had to be removed by a dentist and replaced with 2 temporary caps), and she was patiently awaiting for her adult teeth to come through. She looked a bit funny with no front teeth - all gums and lisping!

I got a few cuddles from Mina before I had to leave for the city. First stop was the city, and I drove in and parked in Jonathan's office building at Wynyard. The ladies agreed to meet at City Extra down at Circular Quay, and I was running a few minutes late by the time I parked the car, so I bolted down to the café as quickly as I could.

All the ladies were present by the time I arrived, and I apologised for my tardiness. Luckily, they had all just placed their orders, which meant the meeting started a few minutes after I sat down. We talked about a number of things on the agenda, and set about trying to organise a number of events that we wanted to host between now and the end of the year. It was lovely chatting with everyone face to face - our meetings had been held via Skype in the past, as most of the committee lived outside of Sydney. I enjoyed some Devonshire tea without little hands pulling at my clothes, wanting to be picked up.

I was having such a great time talking to the ladies that I forgot about the real time. It was after 11.30am by the time I left the ladies, leaving at the same time as Marilyn and Peter. They were heading to the airport for their flight back to Darwin, and Marilyn was hobbling on a walking stick after a recent arthroscopy on her knee. I offered to drive them, and they eagerly accepted, so I walked quickly in the rain to collect the car. We had a lovely chat in the car on the way to the airport, and I dropped them safely at the domestic terminal before heading back towards home.

On my way back, I worked out that I wasn't going to have enough time to get home before heading out to my late lunch with the Mothers Group ladies. We had arranged to meet at T2 Tea House at Macquarie Centre, and with the store policy of "first in, best dressed" (read: "no reservations"), I wanted to get there early to try and secure a table for our group of 7. Plus I needed to buy a couple of things before going to lunch, so I ran that errand and headed up to the eatery.

I waited a few minutes before a table for 4 became available, so I stationed myself at the table and started gathering chairs for our group. There was a couple seated at the next table, and they were half way through their meal when I sat down. I hoped they would leave by the time the ladies arrived, lucky for me, they did!

Sylvia was the first to arrive, followed by Candy, Rebecca, Suzie, and Daisy. Rachel had to go to a birthday party and would be joining us later in the afternoon. It was so lovely seeing everyone - we were missing Janet, who let us know late last night that she was suffering from a head cold and wasn't able to join us.

Sylvia looked amazing as usual. She and Danny and Jayden were about to head to Fiji for a family holiday, and I was somewhat envious of their plans. Candy was weary from Nathaniel's recent health scare - he suffered from some respiratory problems but the issue seemed to have resolved itself. Nevertheless, Nate needed to be seen by a respiratory specialist, and when Candy said they were seeing our wonderful paediatric respiratory specialist Dr Hugh Allen, I told her Nate was in good hands. Rebecca was absolutely glowing in her second trimester with Baby No. 2. I was a bit envious of Bec too, as I had really wanted to be pregnant this year with our Baby No. 2. But it was great to see Bec so well and happy and to hear that the pregnancy was going well.

Suzie had lost more weight since the last time we saw each other, and she was looking utterly fabulous. She was busy renovating her new house, and loving the bigger space they were in. Daisy looked very relaxed, having just returned from an overseas holiday to Hong Kong with her family. Daisy told us about her trip, and I thought wistfully of our trip to Hong Kong in April last year and how much fun we had.

We all perused the menu and went to the counter to order our choices. There were many things to choose from, but by the time we were ready to order, a number of things were sold out. I had wanted to sample their high tea, but alas, I had to settle for some quiche instead. Rachel arrived just as our food was being served, and she had a quick look at the menu before placing her order. We ate and chatted, and it was just so nice to see everyone again.

We all agreed that it was lovely to be out and about without the babies, and tentatively made plans for another outing in the future. We all laughed and wondered how the husbands were getting on with the babies, and hoped the babies were all still in the same condition we left them earlier in the day. The afternoon flew by, and shortly after Bec and Sylvia left, the rest of the group parted ways and went home too. After dropping Candy at her front door, I went home to my brood, all alive, not a single scratch or dent in any of them, and all pleased to see me walk through the front door.

I need more days like today. It was absolutely lovely, and while I did talk about Sean and update everyone on his progress, it was time away from the actual thing called SCID. And until tonight, I didn't realise how much I desperately needed it.

I love my boys, but the time away from them today was the best few hours I'd had in a while. I felt recharged after this little break, and I am much happier to face the days ahead.