Closed Shared Circumstance

[Professor Kahurangi Josephs]

Kahurangi had never been especially good at holding down a social life at the best of times, and that was a problem she had been quite certain having a baby wouldn't help. She had done her best to establish decent contact with as many friends as she could before things got busy, inviting them around during and immediately after her pregnancy, and hoping that would be enough to remind her friends her door was still open, as she was unlikely to be the one making any friendship advances for some time. So it was a pleasant surprise when her post-natal activities had lead to new friendships, and after meeting in a mummy group, Kahurangi was excited to have Rhiannon around for a cup of tea. It was always a relief to talk to people in the same situation, and she couldn't help thinking how sweet it would be for Hinemoa to grow up with a friend, especially as all of her cousins were so much older. Kahurangi had spent the afternoon doing her best to clean the house, though between feedings and changings and playtimes and naps, she hadn't actually gotten very far. There were fewer toys on the floor, at least, and airing the house out had done wonders for the place. Hinemoa was up and fussy again though, and Kahurangi had resigned herself to getting nothing else done, instead sitting with Hinemoa as she was enjoying tummy time, gumming contentedly on a soft rattle.

 

[Rhiannon Archer]

Rhiannon was struggling with motherhood. it as much as she tried to pretend she wasn't it was not a secret. it was as if overnight her world had turned upside down. yes she wanted to be a mother. she really did. ever since she and tybalt had gotten serious she knew that was what she wanted. but she hadnt quite thought about how it would effect her. Fiona didn't sleep well. it felt like every time she had closed her eyes for thirty second the crying would start again. IT was a wonder she was even able to function. Ty was great. when he came home from work taking fi for a couple of hours to let her get some sleep. she knew the least she could do was get some food ready for him but some days she just didn't have the energy, some days he would come home to both of them in tears and fi with a dirty nappy and not complain. just out the kettle on, change the nappy make her tea and make every thing better like some kind of superman.
one day a week she had a mums group. on those days she had to drag herself up brush her hair and actually put on proper clothes, not her pyjamas or her old scrubs that she had taken to wearing around the house just for their comfort and ease of cleaning. despite the effort to get there. the socialising with other mums. hearing them complain that soandso wasn't sleeping, or whatsit was having trouble feeding, or thingy was teething. those few hours were that made her feel no quite so alone. there were mums from all walks of life there. a lot of young mums. but some like here, slightly older, mums who had put a career first before motherhood.
out of all of the mums Kahurangi was one who she had gotten along best with. she had even invited her over for a play date.
Rhiannon packed up her baby bag. spare nappies, wipes, sudocrem, a muggle product but one she used, clothes, bibs, about as much stuff as she used to take with her for a weekend away. before making her way to kahurangi's house. she took a deep breath hopingthat things would go well today before lightly knocking on the slightly ajar door []b"Hello Kaurangi"[/b] sbhe said hopingthat she would beheard.

 

[Professor Kahurangi Josephs]

Hinemoa had just reached for her favourite ring to chew on when there was a knock on the door, and Kahurangi was immensely relieved that she had left it open, as she didn't particularly want to walk away right now. "Door's open, come on in!" She called back, pleased that Rhiannon had been able to make it. Given the workload involved in caring for a new baby, she was frankly astonished that they had both managed to make time for this at all. As young as they were right now, Kahurangi loved the idea of Hinemoa growing up with friends her own age, since all her cousins were so much older already. So Kahurangi getting to catch up with Rhiannon while Hinemoa and Fiona played together was all kinds of perfect. She rubbed Hinemoa's soft head fondly as she called out again to Rhiannon. "We're in the living room, come on through!"

 

[Rhiannon Archer]

Rhiannon took a deep breath as she heard Kahurangi say that the door was open. sh plastered a smile on her face changed her grip on Fiona's carrier and stepped inside. sh needed friends sh knew that, and fiona needed friends even if she was too young at the moment to realise that.
sh entered the sitting room where she had heard a noise coming from and found Kahurangi sitting on the floor "Hello Henimoa" she cooed to the baby before looking at the mum "Hello Kahurangi. thank you for having us over" she said sitting down and unclipping the fasten on the carrier as fi started to squirm. "hey, what do you want. your little cat" she asked the baby taking the cat toy from where it had slipped down the side of the seat and giving it to the baby. "your garden walking in was lovely?" she said not sure how her friend found the time to work in the garden. maybe it was magic or maybe she had someone to do it.

Out of Character:

I am assuming as Kahurangi likes gardening she would have a nice garden. but correct me if not and i will edit, though I think the archers probably don't have many plants in their garden most gardens which have received a bit of love would be seen as nice

 

[Professor Kahurangi Josephs]

((No you're on the money, Kahurangi would definitely have a nice garden!))

Kahurangi smiled brightly as Rhiannon joined her in the room, realising in that moment just how nice it was to see a friend. "Oh, my pleasure! It's nice having someone over again." She said cheerfully as the other woman thanked her. "Sorry it's a bit of a mess, you know how it is." She said fondly, patting Hinemoa gently on the back. Her smile widened when Rhiannon complimented her garden. "Thank you! My mum's been helping me keep up with it while I've been busy." She said cheerfully. She gestured around the room happily. "Make yourself comfy, there's plenty of space on the floor if Fiona wants to join in tummy time." She added warmly.

 

[Rhiannon Archer]

Rhiannon nodded as Kahurangi said that it was nice to have someone over again. "It is nice to be with another adult" she said. She looked around the room as Kahurangi apologised for the mess. it didn't look too messy to her. the Archer household was messier and Tybalt was helping out with far more than his fair share of the housework even though he was still working long hours at the hospital. "It doesn't seem that messy. and yes i know what it's like. my house is just full of endless piles of clothes in different stages of cleanness." she said. she sat down on the floor and lifted Fi into her lap and gave her the cat toy beanie. "I don't know how you do it" she said she hadn't even thought about her garden in a long time. if it wasn't for her aunt the grass would have been well above ankle height by now. she watched as Kahurangi and Henimoa played together. henimoa was a few months older than Fiona. but she and Kahurangi seemed so in sync she wondered if she and fi would be too when fi was that age.

 

[Professor Kahurangi Josephs]

Kahurangi chuckled at Rhiannon's comment, nodding in agreement. "I love being a mum, but I've been really missing conversations about things other than the ducky toy." She smiled, picking up said toy and setting it just out of Hinemoa's reach as she spoke, watching fondly as the baby wiggled across the floor to reach her ducky. She laughed lightly, shaking her head. "Oh I moved all the clothes piles into the bedroom, I'm completely in the same boat." She chuckled. Kahurangi shrugged slightly at her next comment, rubbing Hinemoa's head fondly as she spoke. "I'm really lucky, I've got a close whānau* and most of them have older kids, so I've got plenty of help. I really can't imagine doing this without all of them around me." She smiled fondly, reminded that she needed to thank Tui for delivering groceries earlier. "How about you, how have you been settling in?" She asked, smiling fondly at Fiona. "Time really goes by so fast when they're little, doesn't it?"

*Whānau - Family

 

[Rhiannon Archer]

Rhiannon smiled softly as Kahurangi said that she loved being a mum. it was a notion that she wasn't sure she could repeat in true honesty. being a mum was hard. some days she wished that she could leave Fiona with someone and just do something normal. go out somewhere and not have to think if she had packed enough nappies, or if there would be somewhere she could feed, she was looking forward to returning to work in the coming months only a few days a week but work was somewhere she knew a place where she belonged where she was useful. It wasn't as if Fiona was a hard baby. as far as things went she knew she was well behaved. she slept well only waking up a couple of times most nights, she fed and was by some miracle growing well. and it wasn't that Rhiannon had not known what to expect. she knew more than most. she had seen more babies born and more new mums than most.
she chuckled slightly as her new friend said that they were in the same situation and she had just moved all the washing to the bedroom.
It was almost as if Kahurangi could sense her internal discord as she asked how she was settling in. she bit her lip and shook her head slightly. "Ty's been amazing and so has my aunt Bridge, but It's been hard." she said. her voice catching as she spoke. she didn't want to share too much, this was her baggage. she would be wrong if she unloaded on Kahurangi, she hardly knew the woman, but she could feel the floodgates slowly breaking. "I suppose it does" she said her voice catching slightly she hadn't thought of time passing quickly. she just wanted it to pass quicker, for things to get easier.

 

[Professor Kahurangi Josephs]

Kahurangi nodded sympathetically when Rhiannon said things had been hard, giving the younger woman a caring look. "It is." She said gently, thinking of the sleepless nights. The slight hitch in Rhiannon's voice was unmissable, and Kahurangi touched her arm softly. "If you ever need to talk, or just... need a day off, you know where I am." She met Rhiannon's eye for a moment before looking down, watching Hinemoa gum contentedly on her ducky toy, peering up at the two of them with big brown eyes.

 

[Rhiannon Archer]

rhiannon was so focused on holding herself together. this was meant to be a fun afternoon. a time for Henimoa and fi to play and a time for her and Kahurangi to socialise with someone over the age of one. but now she was pulling down the mood. she felt a gentle touch on her arm and felt her resolve startto break with a tea rolling down her cheek. "than-nk you" she she summoned her bag and found her supply of tissues. she wiped her eye took a deep breath pulling herself back together. it was meant to be a good day. she was meant to be enjoying herself. "Sorry. i didn't mean to bring the mood down" she said. "I know what I should be doing. that's my job, teaching new mums. and I can't even do it myself" she said. so much for the old adage those who can't do teach. she just did the teaching before the doing. she picked up Fi who was looking between her and her new friend she held the baby in her arms. maybe that was her problem. she held so many babies in her work that she was finding it hard to switch between being Rhiannon McGowan the doctor and healer and Rhiannon Archer the mum. "I'm Sorry" she said again. Kahurangi was one of the few friends she had outside of work and she didn't want to ruin that by being a downer all the time.

 

[Professor Kahurangi Josephs]

Kahurangi had heard the pain in Rhiannon's voice, but somehow she still wasn't quite prepared to see the younger woman start to cry. She had only just begun looking around for tissues when Rhiannon summoned her own, so Kahurangi just rubbed her arm gently instead, hoping the contact was enough support. "It's okay." She said softly, slipping into the supportive tone she used so often with students. "Helping someone else do something and doing it yourself are two different jobs." She said softly, watching how carefully Rhiannon held Fiona. "Parenting is so hard, but you're doing an amazing job. Look at Fiona, she's happy and healthy, and that's all because of you. You made an entire human being, and you're right here for her, keeping her safe as she's learning about the world. Nobody could ask for more than that. You're a wonderful mum."

 

[Rhiannon Archer]

Rhiannon sniffed as she felt the reassuring weight of Kahurangi rubbing her arm. she looked at the lady. how did she have everything so together when she was in the same situation, maybe even a slightly better one and things were falling apart.
she smiled damply and rested her head against Kahurangi. her friend had an energy so much like her own mother that it was easy to forget that she had only known her a few months. 'you are right. Fi is happy and healthy. i have looked after enough babies to know what they need. but some days that is exactly what she feels like. a patient on the infant ward. I can look after her, give her what she needs but i always assumed being a mother, and having your own would feel different" she said. she sat up again and wiped her face with her sleeve. "Sorry you don need to hear all this thanks for listening it does help." she said even though it did make her feel a little bit lighter to say it out loud.