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Day 22.
I’ll not lie, today has been a long day.An early start, fitting around our carer’s own arrangements (zero complaints, we will take what care we can get and having her first thing means she comes to us...
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Day 23.
Today I attended the funeral of a friend’s son. A young man. Way back when the internet was young and I was just starting out as a foster carer, I joined a bunch of email groups and nIRC chat rooms, in...
View ArticleDay 24. Thursday
D decided to throw a party for one last night. He extended the invitation to the rest of us, but we chose to decline, and to lie fuming at the noise instead. Irritating.But another beautiful glorious...
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Day 25.
Another crazily warm day. Shorts for my girl, not for Captain Bruise, although I’ll have to find him a stash of bigger summer clothing at some point I think.Quiet. Calm. Lying on the trampoline at one...
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Day 26.
This is my new happy place.Getting up close, I can nearly imagine I'm in a green woody parkland somewhere a hundred miles from home instead of a hundred inches from our back door. I share it with some...
View ArticleDay 27
Five weeks ago, we went to church. I sat next to my friends. We worshipped, prayed, took communion together. Afterwards, we had coffee together. Four weeks ago, I wasn't in the service but was helping...
View ArticleDay 28
4 weeks done.This is good.Today, we achieved ironing. And I weeded yet more sycamore out of the garden. Frustrating that right when I am finally forced to take a real interest in sorting the garden...
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Day 29.5
Seriously grumpy teen inside drove me mostly outside again, and weeding and organising this big bed. New garden tools last week; a particularly viscious root bent fork and snapped trowel. I’ve not used...
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day 30
Some days, most days in fact, someone else says it better.No blessed Charles here, but with the lack of aeroplanes and traffic, the birdsong is all that’s carried on the air (side note: where are all...
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Day 31.
A delivery from Helen House today; toilet roll, tea bags, and a Spirograph which has finally shaken A out of her “I’m not going to do anything except stare at the iPad” funk. And a Lindt bunny I...
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32
Zoom baking again this, chocolate brownies and a banana cake here, a Victoria sandwich up at the other end of the country.A small boy eating frozen peas and dried pasta at my feet, a teen weighing...
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33
Life looks very different with a physically active boy. Dancing in the rain, but deep upset that clothes get wet. Ways to be active inside. A sentence I never thought I’d say: “Stop chewing the toilet...
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Day 34.
Trouble in paradise. What I’d dismissed as a mummified apple turned out to be rather wriggly this afternoon. And on closer expection, the tree proved to have at least five of these wriggly infested...
View ArticleDay 35
Today was not such a good day.Started by blasting D’s bed with his breakfast, when syringe detached from extension tube. Such fun. Smoothie and weetabix all over his clean clothes, bedsheets, and...
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Day 36
We should have been at a Multi-disciplinary Assessment for the boy today. A very long awaited appointment to look at his development, his communication, his general overall uniqueness, and to see...
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Day 37
An attempt at video link speech therapy today. Partially successful; D enjoyed seeing his therapist at least, and demonstrated his current lack of intentional use of loaner VOCA nicely.Big excitement,...
View ArticleDays 38 and 39
More caterpillars in the death bucket. More sycamore in the garden waste bin. More caterpillars in the death bucket. Food into the boy. Food into the girl. Laundry. Cleaning. Mopping. Caterpillars in...
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Days 40-42
A weekend. Saturday means pancakes, so pancakes it was, a reminder of the time when Saturday was our one unrushed morning of the week. We could have pancakes every day now, but we stick to...
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Distancing Diaries. Day 45
Day: 45. After a fair bit of consultation, A and I decided it was definitely Thursday today. It's hard to tell. Mood: low. Slow going. My friends and I, we get through the difficult times by lighting...
View ArticleDay 46.
Mood: better! Brighter. Sunshine always helps. Mood unsquelched despite the discovery that the caterpillars (or hairy danger noodles, Christened by a friend and how they shall henceforth be known)...
View ArticleDay 50
Another day done. Verbena plantlings turned up in the post. I planted them, the boy took pride in stomping them down firmly into the ground and generally obliterating them. It passed the time. Our...
View ArticleDay 56
Stay Alert, apparently. Staying very alert here, as we have had apocalyptic showers of dead poisonous caterpillars. New twist; having seen none for the past few days, it seems as though they had died...
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Day 61
Someone asked this morning for the last “normal” picture on my phone. It took me a long time to find. It’s nothing special, just a moderately grumpy teen holding tight to a set of reins, which are...
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Day 78
We are still here, still plodding along.New guidance means that, as of yesterday, A is officially allowed to leave the house. She hasn’t yet. But this morning we have decided to allow one of our...
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Day 109
Why today? Why not? Today isn’t a particularly special day, nothing distinguishing it from any of the previous 30. We had our fabulous morning Carer to give my girl a shower. I have cut out four heart...
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