Bad news & Good news day

Starting with the bad news.  Unfortunately we had to have our cat Willow put down last night.  We're not sure what caused it but she suffered a spinal trauma which left her unable to stand on her back legs or use her tail.  It could have been a tumour or a blood clot but it happened very suddenly.  She was fine at lunchtime but she spent the afternoon just laying out in the garden.  When it got late I went to see where she was and discovered she couldn't get up.

We took her straight to the vets but it was clear that there was nothing to do be done, she had already lived longer than we expected given that this time last year she developed kidney problems and we thought we might lose her.  But she rallied and with medication had been ok.  But this was not something to be coped with so we made the only decision we could.  But it was very sad.  We'd had her for almost 15 years.  She was a rescued kitten.

I didn't sleep well last night as you can imagine but this morning I received some wonderful news that did cheer me up.

My eldest son rang to say that he is now engaged!  I'm so pleased about that.  He and his girlfried have been together the longest out of my children and their respective partners and I was aware that he needed to get his act together before her patience ran out.  I'd even dropped a few very unsubtle hints.  I shouldn't have doubted him.  He organised a romantic break for them in the Peak District and organised a ring and from the sounds of things did a bit of a treasure hunt.  His partner hadn't expected the proposal was coming because he'd kept his nerves under control but she was delighted so it's all good!

Hopefully if the wedding is next year sometime I will have three weddings in three years and be very happy to see all my children settled.

A - Z Challenge P is for Partners

My theme for this challenge is family and relations.

Partners “a member of a partnership”

Well I think I’ve waffled on enough about my hubby so I’ll use this post to look at our children’s partners.

Our three children all have partners and we are happy with all of them. 

So far only our youngest son, the baby of the family, is married.  He and his American wife were married last July in Vermont, USA.  It was a beautiful wedding, the weather was kind to us as the ceremony itself was outdoors at the campsite where they first met.  (Our son has been to the US for several summers through Camp America.)  His wife is a teacher and I’m pleased to say that at the moment they have chosen to settle here in the UK.  After the wedding they only had a couple of weeks together before our son had to return home to the UK and his wife had to then apply for a spousal visa to come to the UK.  It was a bit nerve wracking waiting for that to be confirmed, particularly as we had planned a celebration in the UK for our family and the visa was only received a few days before her planned flight!  But all ended well and she is now working in a local school and looking forward to having her teaching status ratified here.  I don’t ask about long term plans but if they did decide to make their home in the US at some point we would be doing a lot more flying!

Our daughter the eldest child, is getting married in October.  Until recently she would have had to have a civil partnership with her partner but now that gay marriages has been made legal in the UK we are looking forward to a wedding.  Fortunately our family are very accepting and no one has an issue, certainly not us, about her choice of partner.  She is clearly happy and to us that is all that matters.  We get on well with her partner and we see them regularly as they are also living in London.

Our eldest son, our middle child, has actually been with his partner the longest.  They met while he was at university in Nottingham and that is where they are currently living.  His partner is also a teacher and she is a good driving force in their partnership which is what our son needs.  I’m sure there will be a wedding at some point, at least I hope so because again she is lovely and we get on well.  Hopefully she will give our son the kick up the backside he clearly needs.

It’s been strange getting used to our empty nest but they have all made good choices and are doing well so we are proud of them and we get to see them often.