This week in Home Diaries, I worked the late shift at the office all week, which meant we couldn’t get much done on the sauna, as I could only fit the door in. With the family coming for Christmas, we’ll have to wrap it up in the new year. I called in to see my Dad on Monday, put to work writing down addresses on some Christmas cards. On Tuesday night, he mentioned he had a disagreement with my sister. He had asked her when she would stop feeling down, and she replied, ‘My mum died’. Their conversation went back and forth, and it left him feeling quite shaken. Grief is hard.
My cousin celebrated a big milestone in her cancer treatment with a rather bold ‘Fuck Cancer’ cake, which her sister shared on Instagram and her mum in the family WhatsApp group. As I drove up to the city for work the day after, I rang my aunt and told her I was thinking of my cousin. We chatted about what’s next for her in her treatment journey, plus how she was since her sister, my mum, had passed last month. Later that day, I heard that my brother had been quite unwell and was going to hospital the next day for an x-ray, which unfortunately turned into a two-night stay. Fortunately, it wasn’t anything serious and was merely a precaution. The medication he’d been taking was working, but it still meant he spent his birthday on a ward. I’m hoping he enjoys the voucher we got for his birthday for a Sauna Village that opened nearby where he lives.
We kept working on the renovations inside the house this week to get ready for our family to come over. Unfortunately, I miscalculated or didn’t measure the door frames correctly, so I ended up needing to buy two smaller doors for the upstairs bathroom and hot press. The building suppliers had the doors we needed in stock, and they were hung in time for the family who arrived on Sunday. The house has transformed dramatically over the past two weeks with the wood floors installed, curtains hung, and doors hung. It’s been a remarkable change.
Harry had a video call with our surrogacy agency coordinator because I was too busy in work meetings. During the call, the CEO of the agency joined in, thrilled to announce that we’d matched with a woman who’d been interested in our intended parents’ profile on the company’s website earlier that week. It was a huge surprise, and we were soon introduced and chatting on WhatsApp. I told my Dad about it and said we were hopeful. He wished us good luck but seemed unsure of how to feel. My Mum was the same, recalling her saying, “We’ll see it when we see it.” We had a great video call with her on Saturday and are really excited.
Christmas shopping began Friday, with a visit to the city to purchase some gifts, although the family is not really celebrating this year with it being the first without Mum, so we’re keeping it low-key. Harry was happy for me to purchase his present for him because of his distaste for shopping and crowds. I bumped into my Mum’s friend Breda, who gave me a big hug and laughed at being given a cordless Dyson from my Dad after a house call she and Sheila made the day before. It was great to see her.
Harry’s work Christmas party was Friday night at Sonflour, one of our favourite restaurants in the city, and I went as his plus one. It was nice to close out the year with him before family arrived.
I had some time and watched the final Mission Impossible film. I thought it was quite good and deserved a four-star review on Letterboxd (https://boxd.it/c9Zcsv).
Finally, I’ve been listening to M83’s Resurrection (Original Soundtrack) on repeat. On my way home from the city on Saturday, I stopped by Wunderkaffee to grab some coffee. I also picked up some bread and a lovely wool blanket. Eoin, the owner, had a lovely chat with me and asked about our new home and our journey to becoming parents.
My screen time is down and the weather hasn’t been great for walks. However, with the family coming over for a few days we’ll be going out more often.
RMx
15th - 21st December, 2025