by Bex
In the absence of the family we hoped to have by now, I am celebrating the family I do have. My parents are currently in Malaysia and I haven't really spoken to them over the holidays (I couldn't get through to them at Christmas but they did call on my birthday and we managed a very brief call over a bad line, I was quite upset that I didn't get to speak to them this year, they've always called on Christmas day or I've managed to call them.) but we had a wonderful Christmas with Nik's parents. Due to us working around the holidays and not knowing Nik's rota until quite late on and with them now both being retired, they came to spend it here with us again. Ever since I've known Nik it was the end of Christmases with random friends or on my own. They've always welcomed me so much and I was so relieved to learn they do celebrate Christmas (as they're Hindu Indians). The best thing though, they've let me keep some of my own traditions and even implement what I hope to become new ones! :) They did once try to wind me up while we were on the train down to Durham saying they had no tree that year! They were only joking, luckily, or I would have been straight on the search for one when we arrived!
Having my parents living abroad and seeing them only once or twice a year and rarely on special occasions has been something I've been used to for a long time. It's made me more independent from a young age (I properly moved out of home when I was 18 and have only had two or three Christmases with them since) and has definitely made me closer with Nik's family than I might otherwise be. It's become much harder over the last year and I'm so grateful that I do have a close relationship with Nik's parents (I've heard some serious horror stories about some in-laws!).
They're currently in Kenya as Nik's 94 year old grandmother is quite unwell and yet they still called to ask how my colonoscopy went (twice actually as they called the day before having gotten the dates mixed up!), they always send us lovely emails from their holidays as well and I love that we can see them easily if we need a weekend of being looked after - Nik's Mum's cooking is amazing and she often makes us a fantastic Indian feast when we visit! They've helped us out financially and emotionally while we've been going through this whole IVF thing and I'm so glad to have some close relatives nearby. They even read my blog and always phone if I ever write anything remotely sad, or just if they were impressed with a recipe or something else I have excitedly written about. It's so lovely! :)
My brother-in-law and his wife have also been very supportive over the last year, he even sent me a picture of their Halloween bunny lantern made out of a butternut squash (which he knew I would appreciate!) to make me smile. Izzy has twice posted me exciting packages of gorgeous beauty products from Liberty where she works after each of our treatment failures to cheer me up and she always sends such lovely cards!
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In the absence of the family we hoped to have by now, I am celebrating the family I do have. My parents are currently in Malaysia and I haven't really spoken to them over the holidays (I couldn't get through to them at Christmas but they did call on my birthday and we managed a very brief call over a bad line, I was quite upset that I didn't get to speak to them this year, they've always called on Christmas day or I've managed to call them.) but we had a wonderful Christmas with Nik's parents. Due to us working around the holidays and not knowing Nik's rota until quite late on and with them now both being retired, they came to spend it here with us again. Ever since I've known Nik it was the end of Christmases with random friends or on my own. They've always welcomed me so much and I was so relieved to learn they do celebrate Christmas (as they're Hindu Indians). The best thing though, they've let me keep some of my own traditions and even implement what I hope to become new ones! :) They did once try to wind me up while we were on the train down to Durham saying they had no tree that year! They were only joking, luckily, or I would have been straight on the search for one when we arrived!
Having my parents living abroad and seeing them only once or twice a year and rarely on special occasions has been something I've been used to for a long time. It's made me more independent from a young age (I properly moved out of home when I was 18 and have only had two or three Christmases with them since) and has definitely made me closer with Nik's family than I might otherwise be. It's become much harder over the last year and I'm so grateful that I do have a close relationship with Nik's parents (I've heard some serious horror stories about some in-laws!).
They're currently in Kenya as Nik's 94 year old grandmother is quite unwell and yet they still called to ask how my colonoscopy went (twice actually as they called the day before having gotten the dates mixed up!), they always send us lovely emails from their holidays as well and I love that we can see them easily if we need a weekend of being looked after - Nik's Mum's cooking is amazing and she often makes us a fantastic Indian feast when we visit! They've helped us out financially and emotionally while we've been going through this whole IVF thing and I'm so glad to have some close relatives nearby. They even read my blog and always phone if I ever write anything remotely sad, or just if they were impressed with a recipe or something else I have excitedly written about. It's so lovely! :)
My brother-in-law and his wife have also been very supportive over the last year, he even sent me a picture of their Halloween bunny lantern made out of a butternut squash (which he knew I would appreciate!) to make me smile. Izzy has twice posted me exciting packages of gorgeous beauty products from Liberty where she works after each of our treatment failures to cheer me up and she always sends such lovely cards!
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