Shower

mhmm, where to begin...

My grandfather had 9 grandchildren. Let's call them C1 to C9
C1 would be me, C2 my brother. C3 was my oldest cousin, the one who died in 2007. C4, his younger brother married a girl from Indonesia (back in 2009), and they just had a baby boy.
The card was a bit strange to me. I mean, who writes "we welcome with so much love and joy the birth of our first son" ?
I guess it is the first son bit that gets me. Like they are planning to have more sons (although C4 told me he was wishing for a girl) Also the email telling the family what gift to get was borderline rude. Anyway.
I love my family very much, and C5 through 9 plus aunts/uncles were coming too, and poor baby can't help the social skills / religious quirks / cultural distance of his parents.
DP wasn't keen to go so he was staying home with Suzy while I made it a day for just me. Starting with brunch with HB in intermediate city. Proper cream tea! Then on to shower, finishing with dinner with C5 -6-7 , one uncle and my parents.

C4 isn't much into talking about his late brother, or keepsakes or mementos for that matter.
C6 (ahhh, separate story) still had a teddy bear that belonged to C3, in mint condition. She brought that as a gift for the baby. Probably the only thing he will ever receive from the ....... pff stuck for words... man who died before he became an uncle. I was so happy she found the perfect way to have C3 there. She decided not to tell C4 though, to not risk making him uncomfortable. It is not for everyone to celebrate new life while remembering loss.
Thankfully a member from the other side of the C3/4 family was there. A man my age I'd say, 2 kids, lovely wife. We kept talking. Her sister was a gynaecologist, pregnant through ICSI/IVF. At 5 weeks one heartbeat , single embryo transfer. Then a bit later a second heartbeat. Maybe a natural pregnancy after the IVF? Maybe a late split and identical twin? NOT the same size, so a bit of a worry and uncertainty.
They understood what seeing 2 heartbeats feels like.
I do not have their contact details, just know that they live in my city. I keep telling myself it is kind of strange to try to get in touch with them just to find out what happens. Maybe it is enough for now to know there are normal people who are happy to talk about C3 and twins and living babies and children all on one afternoon.