Above and Beyond….Reality Twitter..

I’ve had a word or two to say about Twitter just lately…I think I’ve been trying to figure out what, exactly, is it’s fascination…it’s such a simple little thing, but it has quite profound and far reaching consequences..

People use Twitter for all sorts of reasons, and, indeed, I have many reasons for using it myself, as I’ve intimated in previous posts. Many people use it as a means of promoting this, that or the other of their pet projects, and do so while enjoying a few little interactive dalliances with the interesting folks they encounter there. One thing is for sure, most people arrive there with a promotional agenda of one sort or another…

Something pretty unusual occurred in the annals of Twitter, in just the last few days. The select little band of people who surround my Twitter experience, whose names follow me around, in both my on-line and off-line existence, like some sort of  amorphous ‘Tag’ cloud, were added to, by what I can only describe as an infant associate ‘Tweeter’. Lucy.

Lucy’s arrival has been patiently awaited for some long time. During the long sojourn that preceded Lucy’s arrival, those of us who knew ‘Ashprego’ were treated to a series of mini tales of H’s and Sproglet’s adventures, (that is, tales of her husband and young son), and a kind of running commentary on the trials and tribulations of a Mother in waiting, many of which were exacerbated by her occasionally regretted decision to continue working…

Now, me, personally, I enjoyed all that, especially tales of the redoubtable Sproglet, whose sense of wonder at the world, curiosity and adventure seemed totally uninhibited by the imminent arrival of an addition to the family, or his Mother’s gradually increasing submission to her condition. I would occasionally wince, wryly, I have to admit, at some of the detail Ashprego reported, of her daily battle with her increasingly active and interactive internal burden, not to mention her bladder, but, no matter, to my surprise, it was a worthwhile experience for me. Now, I’m not that much of a ‘baby person’, I realise pregnancy goes on, out there, somewhere in the world, in a sort of man-like way, but I don’t usually pay it that much attention. However, I actually began to see pregnancy in a new light, realising more clearly than ever before what a difficult experience it all is for a woman, despite having lived through the experience, myself, a couple of times, at close quarters, when awaiting the arrival of my two sons. In both those cases, though, obviously, being a man, I was only an observer; I did help wherever I could, and, of course, I did so willingly, if a only a little vaguely, about the reality of what my boy’s Mother was feeling. It’s interesting, that, actually. I was younger then, and took it all a bit for granted, I suppose, but, this time round, I was often accompanied by a real feeling of physical discomfort, reading Ash’s words, though I’m not naturally a particularly squeamish person. That, I suppose, among other things, emphasises the power of the written word, though I also like to feel it also has something to do with my increased understanding and sensibility these days. Anyway, I digress.

For some while, as nature moved Ash ever toward her final goal, we followed her daily travails and musings on her state, (and that of her bladder). Now, we are all men and women of the world, us Twitterer’s, and we know that nature often has her own plan, which she doggedly follows, often with complete disregard for ours, so, it was no great surprise when, suddenly, Ashpreggo announced baby was coming, a little sooner than expected. A week, or so, actually. What none of us expected, though, well, certainly, I didn’t, was that the intrepid Ashprego would continue her commentary on the whole process, right up to the point where she, clearly, had more important priorities than her keyboard..

I can tell you, I was hugely impressed by that! Personally, I would have been mortified with fear at the onset of such an event, were it happening to me…women really are such gutsy creatures, I think. Well, actually, I know..  So, there was this  sort of eerie silence for a while.. and we all waited….and waited…

I was reminded, oddly enough, afterwards, of the Space shuttle, returning from a mission. There’s a period, between beginning the descent from orbit and reentering the Earth’s atmosphere, when the Shuttle is unable to communicate with Mission Control.. We hear the Coms before the descent, there’s a seemingly endless silence, and, then, suddenly… ‘Hello, Houston, this is Columbia..’

The announcement of Lucy’s arrival was rather like that moment…Of course, we all expect everything to be alright, but there’s always those nagging little voices asking the ‘what if…?’ questions. Well, it was alright. Very alright, matter of fact, and both Shuttle  and Payload came through re-entry with no problems at all..thank goodness… So, welcome to Earth, Ash and Lucy, I’m so pleased for you both.

Rather like the Space Shuttle’s Commander, Ash’s Twitter ‘voice’ was the first to break the silence, with the announcement of the good news…that, again was a real surprise to me. Good Lord, I remember thinking… that girl  is one dedicated Twitter-er…I’d have been too exhausted for months, I imagine… 

Of course, following every mission, there’s a debriefing, (though, I presume, there was a previous ‘de-briefing’, as it were, of Ash, that is, in order to allow for Lucy’s arrival, ). ‘Ashprego’, now suitably promoted to ‘AshDmama’, (a promotion is only right and proper for the Commander of a very successful mission), is currently proceeding with her reports….My hat is very firmly off to her, while I read them. A very brave, interesting and funny young lady..

I hardly know Ash, in any real sense, and I probably never will know her any better than I do now. I can tell you this, though, I love reading her ‘Tweets’ about her family. I don’t think Ash has an agenda, in the sense that many ‘Twitterers’ do, she doesn’t seem to have a blog or any other Internet project to promote, she’s just a young lady who loves her life and her family, and shows her love of her husband and children to the world. She’s chosen Twitter to do that, and, when it comes down to it, what better agenda could anyone have, really….     

Ash, you probably don’t think you are all that important, in the great scheme of things. I’m speaking for myself, but, I suspect, many others… I love what you say, and what you do…You have made an old Englishman smile, many a dull winters evening.. so glad you and yours are around…you and your family are a little Twitter gem… 

George Bolam.        

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