I go to a mothers group at the hospital where I had DS2. It’s lovely, it’s very diverse. There are usually a few midwives hanging around. Sometimes they direct the conversation by having a talking point or activity, sometimes there’s no direction and we all just talk amongst ourselves.

Anyway, when I went on Wednesday the talking point was “What have you found surprising about being a parent.” It was beautiful to hear what people had to say. I was already teary, listening to the others, but when it came to be my turn I knew I was going to cry. So I warned everyone that I was a bit emotional and that I was going to cry but that I was ok. Then I went on to say that of course you know everyone loves their kids, but when it happens to you and you have your own children and you just love them so much, I never knew how much I could love someone - that’s what I found surprising. So I was properly crying and taking at the same time but you could still understand what I was saying.

So, two things: 1. I was surprised at how many people came up to me afterwards and asked me if I was ok (and I truly was OK) and 2. I was surprised that people thought that I really might not be OK and that they only cry when they’re not OK. I’m just a crier, I’m really used to it, my whole family are criers, happy or sad, I cry all the time. I cry if I read the news, I cry when I read things on BB, I cry in ads! And then they looked at me like I was a bit strange. But I’m not *that* strange, surely. One of the MWs agreed that she’s a crier too and she cries in ads so she “got” me.