Good Friday-Resurrection Sunday, Hope.

On Good Friday a handful of us met in Trago Lounge to craft and chat. Amy was there in the calm before the storm as she was performing in the Southampton Passion later that evening, Eddie was spinning, and flitting between at least two other projects, Cecile came and span, Karen mopped me up and held babies and totally spoilt both my daughter and hers, all in all it was a lovely morning.

A lovely morning, with the undercurrent of knowing that a little boy was suffering, and a Mum and Dad were suffering watching their little lad struggling. We all knew the end of little William's life on Earth was drawing closer, what we couldn't know was when he would go to rest.

Now, whether you are familiar or not with the Easter story, I will share a little of it here. The gist of it is that Jesus and friends went to celebrate the passover (Jewish festival, greatly significant, look it up) ... and on the day we call Good Friday (for reasons I don't yet know), Jesus was turned over to the authorities by one of his buddies and tried (if you can call it that) for blasphemy. He was sentenced to death and later crucified.
It was told by Jesus that this would be the sequence of events and that on the third day he would rise from the dead and walk with them once more.

The story that leads up to the crucifixion is filled with high drama and makes an excellent play, but it is the story thereafter that gives us hope.

William died in the small hours of Easter Day, Resurrection Sunday. That he died on that particular day is a poignant reminder of the Christian message of hope in eternity. I do understand that most of the people reading this post will not be Christians, but I for one am so pleased that William's Mum, Dad and brother have a hope, a peace and a security about where William is now.

And the bluebells, William is to be buried in a sustainable way that is quiet and considers our planet. As opposed to marking graves, families may plant native wild flowers and William's favourite colours were blue and green, I sat among the delightful, heady fragrance and photographed the bluebells in my garden for this post, I will never see a bluebell again and not think of the cheeky little lad that touched so many of us in his short life.

When William refers to a Lego Beach Party, I am not sure that this is what he has in mind. But since this post is going to be a tough one to write, I thought a beachy, Lego-y image might do the trick.
Both of the Reynolds' boys love Lego, really love it! Throughout William's hospital stays he has been spoilt rotten with Lego bravery treats, Lego gifts and of course, Lego birthday gifts too. He is Legoed right up!

My little lad sent me up to Bristol last week armed with some of his best Lego Minifigures (including some StarWars ones) for William to enjoy. We share the Lego love in this house too. On Thursday Emma called me with a confession that Yoda had gone missing, I couldn't stress enough that she had bigger things to concern herself with and that nothing material is irreplacable. I am glad we had that conversation.

Yesterday evening she called me again to say that they would be coming home. I knew that this meant they were coming home so that William could enjoy his last few weeks at home with friends and family. I was shocked that the news had come earlier than anticipated, and I am not sure I handled the call that well at all, but Emma and Steve both have a real sense of peace at the moment which is testament to their faith.

This morning I went along to ACC as usual but I knew there would be people there to share the burden of breaking the news, I was relieved to see I and Karen, with a huddle around them so that I hardly had to tell anybody at all. People are being very kind and supportive which is nice, but in truth, I don't know how to feel ...

I echo my daughter's prayers that Emma and Steve and Edward don't struggle too much and that William has fun while he's alive and it doesn't hurt when he dies. Children are amazing!

Thanks to all of you for being a part of the ACC community, for all that we share in the good times and the bad, for the fact that we are all there for each other, and for all of your offers of help.

Much love to all of you.
Crafty (Dee) and Coffee (Emma)
xxx

A Blue Ford Cortina

At the very least, the post title will have got your attention, am I wrong?

This morning's ACC started out as an intimate affair with Alison quietly enjoying a latte whilst pondering whether we had a new venue unbeknown to her. After a time, Liv joined her with little K, and it wasn't much longer before I rocked up myself and put my order in for a large americano.

For those who are waiting, there is no news as yet from the Reynolds'. I will let you know, I promise. For now, Emma is 'coping' ... as best as one can I think, W has been unwell with a chest infection, Dad is to-ing and fro-ing and exhausting himself in the process and E is doing okay, living with Grandma and Granddad but missing his Mummy very much.

The group was slow to grow this morning but at some point or other it did spread to three large tables of crafters/chatters.
Our table was graced with the presence of, well why don't you guess who?, who swiftly took our minds away from life's ills with her comedic tales, most of which involve knickers in one way or another. Whether it was selling glimpses of her knicks for Smarties in the woods, or unwittingly flashing her crocheted pants through her split pinafore, she had tale after tale to get us in stitches this morning. A personal favourite, that had me laughing for quite sometime, was the tale of a sister of a friend of a sister ... or something like that.
Apparently, the poor girl was flashed at in the woods. When asked by the police if the man had an erection, she is alleged to have responded, "No, I think he had a blue Ford Cortina."
Laughter, that great relief for all other pent up emotions.
I for one thank you from the bottom of my heart for the light relief you provided this morning, after a heavy laden, emotional week, it was a blessing!

It wasn't all fun and laughter, we did have some proper conversation too, covering attracting menfolk, understanding and communicating with your other half, sex and relationship education, depression, kids' eating habits, allsorts really. And there were even crafts happening alongside all of this.

I'm missing having my partner in crime around, missing you Coffee!
Until next week ...
Love
C (&C from a distance)
xx