Today we had to be clever about our walk as Wee Daftie has a dance class she attends on a Saturday morning so we had to plan around that. It’s not super close to our house but it’s a class she really enjoys so it is definitely worth the trek.
Daddy Daftie and I had a wee meander around the Gyle Centre, which bolstered the steps a wee bit but we needed to do our proper, purposeful, walk after lunch. So we decided to explore the renovations to the old gas works along Granton Waterfront.
We’ve lived in Granton, or the Edinburgh Riviera as I like to call it, for all of Wee Daftie’s life so it was quite fun to have a dander down to see what they had done. It had been wrapped up in canvas and scaffolding for a good chuck of time as it had been cleaned, mended, painted and polished. They have also added an open table tennis table, lots of benches, a couple of recliners, nice green space and some playground toys. Balance beams, small slides, that kind of thing.
It’s not huge but it is nice. And a really good use of the space. I believe they do small pop up events too but, honestly, it has been a work in progress for so long that I kind of forgot it was there. Despite the size of the thing.
Wee Daftie had a grand old time balancing on stuff, jumping off other bits, climbing through things. It was a lovely way to rack up the step count. We then went to visit the local ducks on the pond, before heading home for some hot chocolate and a film with Daddy Daftie. Not a bad day at all and a lovely step count to boot. Happy days.
I want to talk a little bit about why Simba is important. Not only to our family but to so many others in Scotland. They honour baby loss and they do this in three very beautiful, very meaningful, very supportive ways. They make memory boxes, they have memorial trees of tranquility and, most importantly, they have bereavement rooms in maternity hospitals. Saoirse and I stayed in the room in Simpson’s Centre after she arrived. We had three days, two nights, together in a private room off the wards and it was an absolute blessing.
Having the room gave us time together. It had space for Daddy Daftie to come and be with us. It is close enough for the midwives and doctors to keep an eye on me, but not totally in the thick of the postnatal wards. It is beautifully decorated, comfortable and oddly welcoming, for a hospital room to spend time in at what could be considered the worst and most alienating times of my life.
And we have Simba to thank for it. They have helped fund and install rooms all over Scotland. It is awful that these rooms are even needed but I am eternally grateful to have had that time with Saoirse. Was it enough? Of course not but it was more than I may have had, if it hadn’t been created.
I’m not even going to pretend that I remember everything that was in the memory box we were given but I can say that it was all handmade, thoughtful and a means to create a memory with our baby that won’t be able to make her own. There were two purple bears in our box. We took one for Saoirse and one for Wee Daftie so that they would be able to share one tangible thing. Saoirse’s bear stayed with her and Wee Daftie called hers Penelope.
It’s not much.
But it’s a lot.
So thank you Simba for helping us make and keep memories with Saoirse. Thank you for helping other families do the same.
Who we are
https://www.justgiving.com/page/carolynne-murphy-3?newPage=true
Travels With My Daftie 