It has been a while since I have put my fingers to the keys. I have had life coming at my left and right. It’s life on life’s terms, not on Jessica’s terms. Since I last wrote I lost a friend, he passed away at home. He wasn’t just a friend he was my hairstylist. I know in my last post I put that I hated my hair but the truth was that I actually began to love it. He was a talented and gifted person, and he lost his life too soon. Nobody really knows the reason, but my assumption is that it was related to the disease of addiction in some way. And the most tragic but not tragic was the death of my grandmother on January 5th, Valentina Antoinette (Pannoni) McGrail. The most loving, caring, kind, compassionate person that I have ever known. She lived a long life, she was 96.
So just in case you missed it, I lost the baby in October, lost a friend in December and lost my Grandmother in January. On top of it Phil is doing his interferon and while I love him, it is a difficult process to go through, as it is having an effect on his mood. Lots of stress in the Dunn home, trying to adjust to the ups and downs, both of us. In addition to all of this our puppy, while cute and cuddly, continues to pee in the house.
My new thing is asking myself, what would Valentina do? The reason for this is because my faith had been waning and with the passing of my grandmother all of the signs that a higher power is working in my life were present. She is with me and I know this now. That whole come to believe thing well it has finally happened for me.I believe, I really do believe.
During the last conversation I had with my grandmother, where she was actually able to talk, because the day she died I did the talking and she the listening, she asked me when Phil & I would be trying for a baby again. I let her know in March or April we would try again. And that is exactly what we are going to do. Although I have fears of not being a good enough mother, or afraid that it won’t work and I will be led down the disappointment road again, I ask myself what would Valentina do? And what I come up with is she wouldn’t give up. She never gave up. Even in her darkest hour she never shed a tear, she never complained and she always asked how everyone else was. She was so selfless. That is the type of person I want to be.
Today I am heading back to Weight Watchers to find out my fate. I am sure that I will be a paying customer again. A friend of mine says that we “eat our feelings”. Well I am not willing to keep eating, so I have to get on that scale and face my reality because that is what Valentina would do!
~ Jessica (restart)
A journey through IVF 