Friday 23 May 2014

Cranking back to life


It's been, shamefully, nearly a year since I wrote on here – a magical encounter with Salem in Jordan – and since then a new life has arrived. The birth of a baby is the most ordinary, everyday thing in the world, except when it's yours. And then... well, extraordinary barely covers it. Here she is now, six weeks, and just starting to smile. 


As for the birth... I was reminded of one of my earliest encounters on Lives Less Ordinary, with mountaineer Bill Goodland. Pregnancy and childbirth are, I'm sure, not dissimilar to climbing Everest, which he did almost five years ago this month. Lots of preparation, mental and physical, and one big push. When I asked him how it felt to stand on top of the world, he replied: "You get to stop walking. It's that simple." 

That's how I felt when she was born: I got to stop pushing. The euphoria, joy and tears came later. 


I won't be writing much about my daughter on here – it's still a blog about all the amazing people I meet. But I will be writing it regularly again, so do drop by.