And So The Preparation Begins

I always wondered how I would go about sharing the news with my parents that they were going to become grandparents. Would I phone them, get them both on the line and break the news to them that way? If not, how do I avoid being biased and telling the one parent first and not the other? How do I avoid hurting one’s feelings and sparing the other’s?

Luckily for me my parents decided to take a trip to Zambia to go and see the Victoria Falls. They flew out of O.R. Tambo the Monday after my birthday party. So naturally they had to return to Johannesburg before catching a flight back to Port Elizabeth. On their return they decided to spend a night or two with us before going home.

I fetched them form the Gautrain Station in Sandton on Monday the 5th of December 2011. This was the perfect time to tell them both the news. We were leaving the car park, when I turned to them and said:

“You are becoming grandparents!!”

Their first response was: “From whom?”

“Us of course!!” I said and filled them in on the little detail we had. I have two younger siblings and that caused a bit of confusion. In their defence, none of us thought that we would get ‘That Call’ so quickly.

We were notified of our son’s birth very early compared to how it should happen. Usually you only get the call at day 56/57 of the 60 days. We got ours at day 17 of 60. There was still that risk that the birth mom could change her mind. This however, did not stop us from going on a shopping spree. We started off with a bag of nappies and a set of bottles. Soon we bought clothes and then it just spiralled out of control. The weeks felt like they were dragging by.

Soon it was Christmas. The tree was up and the gifts were bought. We decided that, when Loïc came home, we would celebrate with him and only then would the tree come down. The festive season of 2011 was a quiet one. Mornè and I celebrated Christmas low-key with a Christmas lunch for two.

New Year’s Eve arrived and soon it was 2012. Eagerly waiting for the 13th of January to arrive. The day that the 60-days would expire. For some reason we weren’t worried at all. We trusted or SW completely and knew that she would not put us in a situation where the birth mom could possibly retract he decision.

In the weeks to follow Mornè and I were blessed with three baby showers. We each had one at the office with our colleagues and one that was thrown by our friends. We were showered with gifts and truly spoilt. Loïc was not going to need anything. We were ready for his arrival.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Close to the end of January, I got a call from or SW. She discussed with me the final details of the placement that was going to take place in February. The very next morning Mornè and I booked the flights, accommodation and arranged a rental car with baby seat and all.

The reality was starting to sink in. With the baby’s room ready, travel arrangements in place and (P/M)aternity leave booked, we counted the days to the 26th of February.

 

Jusqu'à la prochaine fois ...