Week 10 of 52 weeks: The Princess has a Birthday
On Saturday, our little girl Orla celebrated her sixth Birthday. An exciting and fun filled event for her, and a poignant and deeply meaningful one for Daddy and me. It’s been a hectic, fun, terrifying, exhausting, joyful, wonderful, terrible, fantastic and eventful, journey. This little person whom our lives revolve around, and we could not live without her.
We reminisced the night before of the events of six years ago. The tricky pregnancy, the joys, the fears and expectations. Then, the mad dash to hospital, the 21 hour labour and nightmare epidural that ultimately resulted in an emergency c-section where my lovely husband sat and watched his wife be operated on for six hours, whilst clutching his baby girl and wondering what the future would hold for them both, possibly without me. Not the labour we both hoped for, harrowing for the most part, but some laughs were had. Then the long recovery; colic, then teething, her illnesses and on an on and on and on and on and on. It’s been quite a journey to say the least.
And, we would do it ALL again in a heartbeat….oh yes we would. Happy Birthday my Orla, we love you.
P.s. I will write up her birthday party in the next post.
Week 9 of 52 Weeks: Kites, Friends and Blue Sky
There is nothing that will lift the spirits of the great British public quicker after a long, cold, wet and interminably grey winter tham some blue sky and a little sun.
Today, Orla and I met up with family friends, Simon, Nicky and Ella for an afternoon in the village park, and Simon brought Ella’s kite. Watching the girls fly the kite, run round the park, their faces glowing with healthy exercise and laughter cheered me up more than I can express.
Week 7th of 52 Weeks: Ballet Bunnies
Orla’s ballet show was on Saturday at Chichester Festival Theatre. Two shows a matinee and evening performance. Orla’s group were bunnies in the ‘Peter Rabbit’ piece. We were there from 10.00 am until 9.00 pm.
Exciting, exhausting, frustrating and wonderful, it was a very long day, but all in all a good one. Here is a little picture I snapped with my mobile. I am using this one for my 52 Weeks project. It was the only one that didn’t show the faces of the other children (thereby protecting their privacy) and also I was so bloody busy (as a chaperone tidying, organising, feeding, taking to the toilet, dressing costumes, entertaining and keeping in line a big group of very little girls), I didn’t have time to take any more.
Orla acquitted her self very well. Alas I did not see the show, as I was needed backstage more. But, Daddy saw both shows. Lots of ‘freestyling’ from Orla apparently. Our friend Carol came to see Orla dance and told me she was a little star, as they all were.
The dance school only put on the show ever two years (thank God). Will I do it again? Who knows, probably. It was certainly an experience and I was able to get to know some of the others Mothers better, which was good (as Daddy does the Saturday ballet run generally).
The most important thing though, was that Orla had a wonderful time and thoroughly enjoyed herself, and that made it all worthwhile for me.
Week 4 of 52 Weeks: Orla’s Ballet Shoes
Orla’s Ballet Shoes:
Today for most of the day, I was a chaperone at the big rehearsal for Orla’s Ballet school show, which takes place next month. It was hectic to say the least; little dancers, big dancers, lots of Mums, some Dads, games, excitement and lots of running about, while rehearsals took place on the stage. The show is a pretty big deal, as it is taking place at the Chichester Festival Theatre, and is only staged every two years. There are two performances; a matinee and an evening performance.
Your Petticoat is showing….
Last night I was reading to Orla, and we got to a section where the little girl in the story put on her ‘petticoat’, and Orla asked ‘what’s a petticoat?’. I found this interesting, for when I was five years of age I would not have asked this question. My sister and I had lots of petticoats, as we mostly wore dresses and skirts at the same age, and at that time, one wore a petticoat (or ‘slip’) under ones dress, whether one was a little girl or a grown woman.
I got to thinking, when was the last time I wore a petticoat (or slip)? I do still have one (as I discovered on investigation), not a full slip, but a skirt petticoat, for wearing under a skirt…naturally. Now, I don’t wear skirts any more, but, when I still worked full time and wore a mid calf length skirt, I would wear a petticoat as it stopped the skirt catching my legs and bunching up.
But, I got to wondering, does anyone wear petticoats or slips under dresses and skirts anymore as a day to day item of clothing? I certainly don’t think little girls do, and I don’t recall seeing them in Marks and Spencer’s in the children’s section. In fact, when buying new bras recently, I didn’t notice many in the woman’s section either. Is it a piece of lingerie that has finally had it’s day, and been relegated to the same class of obsolete underwear as the chemise and bloomers (or rather ‘directoire’ knickers as my Grandmother called them)? Or is it now considered a ‘recreational’ item of clothing. I rather liked petticoats and slips, they were pretty, and allowed the dress to hang better. I looked through Etsy and Google, and there were flouncy 50′s style petticoats a plenty. So the traditional petticoat is still popular as a ‘dress up’ item of clothing it would seem.
Lorrie Whittington
Visual Artist and Designer
Chichester, UK
