Carla Michele Morgan

On Friday 10 November we celebrated Neil’s birthday by spending the day together. Zoe didn’t have any lectures so she joined us.

We had a lovely day with lunch at Pizza Express in the Bay and then a visit to the New Theatre to see ‘A Christmas Carol’ in the evening.

Jonathan gave Neil a Skype phone which was quickly registered and used to call Sweden. Free telephone conversations are wonderful when you live in different countries.

All in all Friday 10 November 2006 was a very good day and hopefully closed the door on one of the most painful years we have ever lived.

Today (Saturday 14 Oct) we took Jonathan to Birmingham Airport for and an 11am flight back to Sweden (via Copenhagen). This meant leaving Cardiff at 7am on a Saturday morning, it was hardwork waking up early on a weekend day but you do it for a loved one who needs a lift!

The flight was on time and we found ourselves saying goodbye again and watching our son disappear to the departure lounge. It is painful saying goodbye when you are a close family but I consoled myself that Christmas was coming and we’d get to spend some time together in about 10 weeks time.

The plan was that after dropping Jonathan at the Airport we would have some quality time together by exploring a National Trust property on the way back to Cardiff. Croome Park was the place we decided upon but somehow we managed to get lost! A comfort break was needed by this time so we found a parking space in a small town / village and asked some local people if they could direct us to Croome Park.

Our guides were a lovely old couple both in their mid 80’s who were on their way back to their own car after visiting the local market. They were very helpful once we had located the correct district on the map. We talked for a while with this dear couple - I to the wife and Neil to the husband.

The wife informed me that she too had ‘children abroad’. A daughter with two precious grandsons in the USA and a son who had recently moved to Italy with his wife. I sensed she really missed her loved ones. From our conversation I quickly gathered that she and her husband regularly paid the airfares for their grandsons to visit them in England. There is a cost to living in a global village. I encouraged the use of email but she said after several attempts neither of them could grasp how to use the computer or operate an email system.

As we talked I was very much aware how well behaved their little dog was who just waited patiently. I shared with the wife about Oscar and his illness. She encouraged me to have another dog after Oscar. She had had 3 dogs all named Ethel (as this was the only name her husband could remember!!!). Each one had brought joy and life to their lives. The current Ethel was having a walk at midnight the previous night. The wife believed that having a dog had kept them both fit and healthy.

It was time to say goodbye again. This time to two strangers who had many things in common with Neil and I. Both happily married, both devoted parents and both living in the UK whilst our children lived abroad.

Neil and I did eventually find Croome Park and thoroughly enjoyed it.

What a week it has been for us in the Morgan household. Many of you will know that our Yorkie, Oscar, was diagnosed with a tumour in his tummy which was affecting his liver. That was on 11 July. The vet has been surprised that Oscar is still around. So are we. An appointment was put in the diary for him to be put to sleep on Friday 15 September.

Let me explain what happened - on Thursday 7 September the weather was really warm and sunny and I thought it would be good for Oscar to go to the Park (his favourite place) with Neil as I prepared our evening meal. They were gone a while and on returning Oscar tucked into his food. An hour later he was really sick and rapidly went downhill. A visit to the vet the next day for a very ‘wobbly’ dog meant receiving 3 injections - anti-vomitting, anti-biotic and a steroid (this can reduce growths in some animals).

Over that weekend Oscar continued to be weak refusing to eat although he did drink water. The agreed Monday evening check with the vet was quite negative. He said it was time for us to consider the dog being put to sleep. This was so hard but we agreed if by Friday 15 September he was still not eating and interested in life we would have to make that terrible decision to stop his suffering.

It was tough living each day with the knowledge that on Friday we would take Oscar to the vet and say good bye to him. We made sure we had time off work to be together as a family. The plan was to take the dog for a walk then have a picnic in the park. It was all planned. I personally cried buckets during that week but do firmly believe that the situation with Oscar was like a trigger for me to grieve the other losses I have faced over the past year. It was exhausting for me and for the rest of the family preparing for such a sad appointment. Then………….. on Thursday evening we all went for a walk with Oscar letting him decide when enough was enough. He just didn’t stop and managed the usual route in Hayley Park round the tennis courts and back home . We were puzzled and confused!

Friday arrived and Oscar was a differnt dog. He was eating normally and barking - a healthy sign for a terrier. We no longer had peace to put him to sleep instead we enjoyed the day walking in the Park and having the planned picnic. It was beneficial spending time together - the 4 of us plus Oscar. We talked about grief and the loss each of us has faced since last September. It was also a time to look to the future trusting God to take care of each detail of our lives.

We still went to the vet for 6.40pm on Friday but this time it was to hear the nurse and the vet say how glossy Oscar’s coat lookd (he had had 2 baths over the past week - one because of vomit, the other of rolling in the grass the previous evening) and that he seemed a bit better. Steroid tablets were dispensed. Oscar still has a tumour and he won’t live forever but for me I am learning the lesson of taking each day as it comes and trusting Jesus to help me make the right choices whatever I face each day. To live life to the full as a believer means following the one who has ‘it’ all in hand, to trust him with all we have - even our pets.

Whatever you are facing remember:

‘There is a time for everything, a season for every activity under heaven’. Ecc 3 v 1

Today I witnessed an interesting sight where I work - I saw a horse drawn carriage deliver a beautiful dressed Indian bride and groom to their wedding reception. Many family and friends had gathered even on a Monday afternoon. It was amazing to see such powerful animals working in such a graceful way. My colleagues and I puzzled over the mix of cultures going on to celebrate the beginning of another marriage.

Friday will be my last day in work for a week or so as we take some time off to prepare for our niece’s wedding on Saturday 26th August. Neil and Jonthan will be taking the official photographs and Zoe and I will just look gorgeous!!! It will be a very special day for our family as Esther and Chris become man and wife. This is the first wedding of their generation in both our immediate families. 4 days later Neil and I celebrate our 26th Wedding Anniversary!!!! We’ll be out for tea that night!

I can hardly believe the ‘Race for life‘ is fast approaching. My daughter, Zoe, is taking part on Sunday 4 June in Cardiff. I am so proud of her as she has overcome so much on a personal level this year. I’ll be there with the rest of the family cheering her on the 5km course. The ‘Race for Life’ is a very good cause raising lots of money for cancer research; sadly each of us knows someone who is affected by cancer. If you’d like to sponsor Zoe please email me.

Today this blog is 2 months old and only now am I sitting down and typing!! It was a birthday gift from Jonathan, my son. Thanks Jonathan.

A lot has happened over the past 8 weeks but I suppose the biggest surprise/shock for me was being made redundant from my job (at the end of March) which I had been in since January 1999.
So far I have completed 7 job applications been shortlisted for 2 interviews and today been offered a job with the National Trust in Wales.

It has been an interesting journey so far. I will fill you in on more of the detail another time. Whatever it is you are waiting for - a phone call, a letter, a relationship - be patient and remember God does cause ‘all things to work together for good’ - even when it doesn’t feel like it.

Here’s wishing you a Happy **th Birthday!¬† I’m sorry I can’t be with you, but have a great time and I’ll see you in a few weeks.
Here is your present - your very own blog.  Check your email for the log-in details.

Lots of love,

Jonathan.