There was no savourites last week because, well, there were few tasty morsels. That’s not strictly true: there were dozens of small mercies. That C treated us to a good night’s sleep the first night we returned home after three nights and four days in hospital. The way the cheap cheese on the hospital tuna pasta bake curdled into something deeply comforting. The fact we only live 15 minutes away. The village that upheld us, sent flowers, extended deadlines, managed to find time to bake cakes with their children and draw cards and buy crossword puzzle books to keep us distracted and help us feel loved. That he wasn’t more poorly. The colour of the sunset seen out of the cab window as we rushed him in. The jar of home-made herbal tea to calm my nerves. But this time last week we were still in hospital. It was not a time for newsletters.
Thank you, then, for bearing with me. I’ve begun the work of piecing myself back together this week, of tidying the house and wading through my inbox and eating vegetables and taking up offers of baby-watching to do so. I feel a bit unhinged, I feel a lot behind, I feel a little more settled. These are the other good things that have unfolded this week: