Two children, two kittens and three ducks - these are my dependents; solely my dependents at the moment as my husband has been working abroad for two weeks. I can feel very sorry for myself; in all this foul weather I've been on my own with two hyperactive boys, wind and rain lashing incessantly against the windows, flood waters rising on the lane outside. And I'm six months pregnant. But I feel proud - I'm surviving. I've just about kept it together with the children and I've not even cried yet.
I've been more worried about the animals. Symptomatic of my obsessive traits when things get out of control, I found myself cleaning the duck house out during the storm last Friday. Their house had flooded and I was worried about them spending the night on wet, freezing hay. So I put on my wellies, hat and coat, shovelled the muck out and put clean bedding in, drenched myself by torrential rain so that I had to strip to my underwear when I got in.
Thank God for CBeebies; my children were safe and content in front of the fire. So I turned my obsessive concern to the kittens, fussing around their house to make sure it was a dry haven in which they could spent the night. A very sensible and supportive friend of mine suggested that of all my dependents, the ducks were probably best able to survive the weather alone. But my father taught me to always care for the animals first and I knew I'd not sleep that night unless I was sure they were all safe from the raging elements.
We've been to Sunday School this morning and it reminded me how important it is to get out and mix with other families. At 7.05am I felt tired to the core, despondent, tearful and was contemplating driving off and leaving my children who were spitting cereal at each other across the table. Arriving at Sunday School I realised that other families have just the same amount of problems and inconveniences, and felt ashamed for my self-pity. This morning Sunday School and my wonderful supportive friends there, restored my sense of perspective so that I am now able to face another wet, windy day as a single mother with renewed vigor.
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2 comments:
Hi I hope you don't mind me using your blog comments to record my thanks and pleasure at reading your book. I bought it as Christmas present for myself and couldn't put it down. I found your enthusiasm and courage inspiring. It was a much needed boost to my pregnancy as I realised just how much i take for granted from the nhs (and mothercare). beyond that I got all nostalgic for the russian language and culture (which I know is not Kyrgyzstan - but closer to it than where I am in Bristol) - i was a student in yaroslavl on my russian degree for a couple of months in the 90s. So when you related the powercuts and missing manhole covers it strangely brought back fond memories. Also drinking tea with raspberry jam in a funny little dacha pretending I understood everything that the babooshka host was telling me! So thank you for a great book - keep on writing.
Hi Charlie
Thank you for your comments. After all the work and fretting it means so much to hear from readers who have enjoyed the book. As someone who knows the region, I'm glad you could relate to experiences I've shared. Good luck with your pregnancy, I plan to write another book once I have some more thinking time - I'm expecting my third child in April so not much time for writing now!
Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts. If you get the chance I'd be very interested to know where you heard about the book - you can write to me at saffiafarr@yahoo.co.uk.
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