There has been too little sleep here over the last 7 weeks – on the one hand great joy -the puppies arrival, our daughter is home, safe and sound from her year in Mexico, Guatemala and Columbia having had the most wonderful time and is at pains to keep me up to date with all her adventures chatting late into the night (i.e after 10pm!!) – but a tumour growing inside our second son’s right tibia was just about enough to finish me off. There has been much toing and froing between medical appointments, various X-rays, MRI and CT scans and trips to Oxford to see specialists. Eventually, an operation and the news, as Woody Allen once quipped, “The best three little words in the English Language? ‘It is benign’”. With indebted thanks to the medical team in Oxford, our son is now back in the gym, fit and well and in possession of a remarkable set of GCSE results – although exams and Sixth Form are inconsequential when pulling up outside the Sarcoma Centre. The whole horrendous experience is a sober reminder to stick to your guns when something doesn’t feel right and never to be fobbed off or put anything down to just ‘growing pains’ with adolescents, particularly if any pain is worse at night time or when resting. I have spent a long time since thinking of the young people that we met when on our appointments and sincerely hope that they had the same outcome as our son.
Given all we’ve been through, how fitting then that Nessun Dorma (No-one Sleeps) should be playing in the car as we returned from a trip to the vets after the puppies’ first immunisations. As if to remind me, at the end of the song, Lucy, one of the five, eight-week-old little dachshund puppies even gave a standing ovation in her crate in the car.
Dutchy, as I’ve written before, is a fantastic mum to all the girls, only momentarily forgetting them when her tennis ball appears. Daddy dachshund has been to visit his girls too and was a little bemused, he wasn’t quite sure what all the fuss was about and retired to his study after a bit, where he was quite at his leisure – it brought to mind Mr Bennett from Pride and Prejudice -especially as they are five sisters. We ought to call them Jane, Elizabeth, Mary, Lydia and Kitty, but then it would be even harder to part with them and as it is, I am only allowed to keep one. I would love to call her Daffodil, but I’ve been outvoted in favour of Daphne – which Hubby has truncated in that Royal Navy fashion (some habits die hard) and so the little, dainty, exquisite thing is now referred to as Daffers.
One of my biggest concerns around having puppies was how Dutchy would feel when it is time for the other four to leave. Having done the research I am reasonably reassured that she will be OK – happily all are going to great homes and two are not going to be far away (Penny is going to my sister, Mabel is going to our youngest child’s great school friend whereas Lucy and Vivi are going together to Yorkshire to two friends). Dutchy will still have Daffers to attend to and they will be coming to work with me, and she will regular contact with Mabel and Penny and, on high days and holidays, Lucy and Vivi. In meantime there’s always the Puppy Mummies WhatsApp group to keep abreast of dachshund development!
A shout out must be made for Jean, who whilst all of the above was ageing me by the moment, has done a marvellous job in keeping production going in the warehouse and the orders going out. I also worked a lovely long weekend at Gatcombe Park, made more lovely by the fact that our stand was next to Pinkster Gin; it was most diverting to enjoy great gin, fabulous weather and meet and greet so many returning customers from the last three years. Simultaneously, we have produced lots of lovely diffusers for UBIETY (they smell incredible and if you are looking for a natural essential oil blend to calm, this is for you) and we’ve been hard at work producing some lovely candles for the fabulous Lucknam Park too. It’s all go and therefore, I feel a tad reluctant to mention (I’ll whisper it), ‘Christmas’ in August, but suffice to say planning for that starts early in the candle world and production is well underway.
I am glad for it, for the hard work, the dogs, the daughter, my lovely sons – I am grateful and am counting every blessing.
Enjoy the rest of the summer hols… (it’ll soon be crisp and conker coloured).
Cathy x
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