Happy Birthday to Me!

It's been a good weekend - a good start to another year in the life of the Happy Ranter. Last night was family dinner which was delish (and I was sent home with the rest of the cheesecake!). Afterwards, I met up with CC at the local pub and knocked back a couple of beers. Sadly, by 'a couple' I literally mean 'two'. Geez, I'm old. Oh, but there was also one shot - CC wasn't about to let me get away without one.

Today I went to watch some very lively African dancing put on by MoonDance. CC was taking part in a couple of dances so I was more than happy to be there to check out her new moves. I was very proud of my friend for having the guts to get up and dance. The music was energetic and joyful and afterward I walked home with a bounce in my step. If I wasn't so unco, I'd probably consider taking a class or two myself.

The rest of my day was spent doing laundry, grocery shopping and procuring myself some dinner from the Thai restaurant down the street. Maybe not the most exciting birthday ever but it's the end of the day and I'm feeling happy and relaxed. Who can ask for more than that?



In other recent news, I recently took part in a walk for Infertility Awareness. Little did I know when I first heard about the walk that it was actually a group taking part in the Victoria Day Parade. CC was game to come along (even after I told her about the parade part - what a friend!) and we had the honour of being the banner bearers at the front of our group. It was a fun day, we had great weather and it was an interesting way to see the city - walking up the middle of the main street. We got a lot of cheers as we went along and one couple held up their baby and pointed vigorously at him - clearly a success story of fertility treatments. Seeing that got me a little teary eyed because it truly is an amazing, wonderful thing that there are so many options for a couple to get help to have a baby. To see people so obviously thrilled with their little one and proud of what they went through -what they survived - is uplifting.

As for myself and infertility - I've officially reached the age where I now belong to the category of 'Advanced Maternal Age'. That's a horrible trio of words to be strung together. It sounds as though we're all grannies trying to have babies. I don't consider myself 'old' but as far as making babies is concerned I am apparently no spring chicken! My doctor has yet to specifically mention my age as being an issue, or tell me that I have old eggs, so until that happens I'm not going to worry to much about the AMA tag.

I still find myself occasionally having moments of sadness over the miscarriage, sometimes I still cry. It is getting easier though. What really helps is taking part in increasing awareness of infertility and the struggles people have. The walk, this blog, talking about it to anyone who wants to listen - it makes me feel better to think that I might be helping others, even if only in small ways.

Even more important to me is the support I've gotten from all of the wonderful people in my life - my family and my friends. I know that those closest to me have shared my pain, some have even shed a tear or two. Without that, I might still be feeling as though I was unable to function and I am so grateful that I have such people in my life who shared that burden. It made my pain seem less because they took a piece of it from me and lightened my heart that little bit. I know that when The Boy and I are eventually successful in starting our family - no matter what road we have to take to make that happen - all of these same people will share our happiness and the celebration will seem that much brighter.

To all of you that have been there for us, thank you. It means more to me than I can say.