Dear Family and Friends, Haverim ve’Haverot, Chères/Chers Ami(e)s, Asdika and loved ones,
If the year 2003 was our annus horribilis, then 2004 has been our annus mirabilis. This time last year Christmas was going to be a pretty grim affair with Peter about to pop his clogs, kick the bucket, buy the farm, pass on etc..
On Christmas Eve last year, they told us they couldn’t keep him alive any longer (his heart was about to give out and he had picked up this MRSA virus), and then on Christmas Day when all our children were there to say goodbye to their Dad, the doctors came in and said they might have a slightly second-hand heart for him. Two hours later they said it was no good, it was a smoker’s heart and was damaged! You have no idea what an emotional roller-coaster that time was. And during all this poor Aviva was pregnant ! But on January 7th he received a new heart (that of a 40-year-old!) and on 1st February, he came home.
Since then our lives have turned the corner and all sorts of other wonderful things have happened.
On July
30th Aviva and Marcus produced a beautiful baby boy – Bryn Reuben – our first grandchild. Marcus, whose initial approach to babies was
one of distinct unsentimentality, has now discovered the joys of fatherhood
(sleepless nights, green and hanging nappies but lots of smiles and cuddles).
Aviva has blossomed in motherhood and is well settled into Life With Baby.
Tammy and Scott have found a lovely little house in Tunbridge Wells and moved in, so we see lots more of them – except when they are off scuba diving in the
Claudia, after all the anxieties and burdens of the previous year, has flourished tremendously as a teacher and now has more pupils than she has ever had.
Zamira took her GCSE exams in summer (in which she did very well [she passed 10] considering what was going on at home). She also entered into the joys of a new relationship with Carl, her full-time boyfriend, and they now seem joined at the hip, helped by the fact that they are both attending their new 6th form college at Lewes.
More About Babies
And it has certainly been a year of new life and babies. Tammy has acquired 2 little black ones that purr [kittens] and Yaroni’s new baby has two wheels and roars [a Ducati motorbike].
Not to be left out, Zamira has also been pressing for another puppy. Needless to say, we scotched that one straight away. The good news is that Aviva and Marcus are talking about a baby sister for Bryn.
This year we built a chalet type studio for Claudia to teach guitar in. Our nieces, Aliza and Selena, promptly moved in after their caravan burnt down (so the annus horribilis wasn’t quite over). When they moved out, Roni moved in, and has been there ever since – another boomerang kid come home to roost.
Another arrival to swell the settlement at Shelanu has been Pete’s Mum, Madge. She is now 91 and this year, after years of better health than all of us put together, finally became quite ill for a while. After making a good recovery she still found that it would be difficult living on her own, so we converted the garage into a cosy ‘granny pad’ and she has moved in too. We have therefore increased the kitchen cup board space to accommodate the extra tea bags we will need, Madge being a prolific tea-drinker.
In fact, I think we only have about 2 square inches of garden left without a habitation or garden shed of some kind. And we have to fit in a pond next year !
More News and Photos are to be found on our new website at http://www.racher.co.uk. Please contribute if you are on-line and can do so.
