Getting Organised

It's Friday! Tomorrow Matt will arrive back after a week away. We have all missed him terribly and it will be such a relief to have him at home again.

Matt's return will also mark the start of serious preparations for Melbourne. I really need to sit down and figure out what information I need to pass on to caregivers, what I should be packing for Shae and for me etc. I only just started to seriously think about these things in the past couple of days.

If I am sitting by the bed for days on end do I want to be wearing jeans or tracky pants? And if comfort does indeed take precedence over style then I need to think about investing in an extra pair of trackies as I realise I only have one old pair of (quite large) Lorna Jane yoga pants which were given to me by a friend the last time I did a long stint at the Royal Childrens Hospital (just after I had given birth to the girls). The great thing about these yoga pants is that they have a drawstring waist, so they've been able to cinch in as my girth decreased. They are DEFINITELY on the "to pack" list.

Apart from clothes, I also need to think about entertainment. I need to get on with downloading more music to my ipod and find a good book to escape into if I get some quiet moments. I have our neighbour's 8- and 6-year-old daughters thinking about their recommendation of a chapter book or two for me to read to Shae to pass the hours. I will also try to get some stories on cd that she might be able to listen to.

Many years ago, (actually, when I was 5 myself) I was sick with Shingles. Very sick apparently. And in a lot of pain. Mum and I were just talking about it this week and it comforted me somewhat to know that I don't remember the pain. I do remember spending a lot of time in Mum and Dad's bed and being given numerous medicines in a rainbow of colours and listening to a particular casette tape of a man named Ken Medema who sang and told Christian children's stories. One of the stories was about a character called "Gorgles", the other was about "Rennis". I remember those stories very very well and the songs that were in them.

Though I have not been able to locate a copy of these stories to get Shae and I through this stint, I am trusting I will be able to find something equally special to use which will mark her spirit in a very precious way.