She's home!

Shattered and weary, the YFG made it home this afternoon, hobbling slightly and browned by the sun and wind this morning!  I bought her and her friend a BLT sandwich in that supermarket on the way home, and they gobbled them down, so it was a good thing to see them eating and enjoying themselves!  They admit that they haven't exactly enjoyed the weekend but they do feel that they have made a significant achievement, and the teacher leading the whole weekend has been very proud of all of them.

And they haven't failed yet!  They still have to make a presentation to the school assessor but the events of the weekend haven't spoiled their chances, thank goodness.

See you tomorrow - got school uniform to iron now!

Lost!

TheYFG's group have been lost this afternoon and laboured into the campsite at 8.30pm after 11 and a half hours in the field!  The assessor felt so sorry for them that he put their tent up for them.......can't help thinking that the group has probably failed the expedition: they didn't have all three pages of their route plan, their map reading obviously isn't up to much, and then they rang me for the teacher's mobile number because they had rung what they thought was her number and got a stranger!  They were about 5 miles from their destination, they thought, at 5pm when they rang, but apparently it took them a further three and a half hours to actually get there - she must be exhausted!  The good news is that they only have to walk for 4 hours tomorrow so I can pick my two {YFG and friend from the village whose mum took them this morning} up earlier than expected.  Oh dear!

Glimpses of good

We have had an appointment with the nurse practitioner at the surgery to help her fill in a referral form for the FH to attend a local Sue Ryder hospice for pain management care.  I have also had a community occupational therapist on the phone to check a referral he has received and ask for a bit more information, so hopefully they will visit soon to advise on the things that the FH is struggling with, like the bath and shower....he had a bath last night and then I heard this little voice [good thing I was sitting on the bed], "I can't get out!" which was heartbreaking to hear.  Luckily, I managed to engage several strategies with towels and chairs to lean on, and we got him out.   He probably won't dare go back in until we have some better arrangements in place...showers all the way for now!

A conversation at gym tonight and a small disagreement over something have triggered an emotional dam breaking down in the YFG and the poor girl has sobbed for nearly an hour tonight over all sorts of struggles that she has got tearing her in all directions, and making her feel overwhelmed.  She is going off on her actual Duke of Edinburgh expedition in the morning and I have to say that I am worried about her emotional strength to get through it.  We were all piled on to our bed tonight, trying to talk with her and reassure her, but it took quite some time before she felt able to stop.  It was hard, and made me cry to think that she had been bottling all these things up inside - we have promised that at least one of the things she is doing can be stopped this term, and we offered her the chance to have a break from her piano lessons, but she wants to carry on with those.

My dad has offered to take the girls away again this summer, but his partner isn't completely in favour of the idea - he rang me up this afternoon and told me about two cruises that he has found on offer in the paper today: one to the Fjords again and another to the Baltic.  Neither are really suitable in my mind because the Fjords is a repeat of the last one, and the Baltic one is for two weeks - and I am totally selfish and don't want the girls to go away for two weeks, not in the last summer that we will be together before the EFG is off.  I offered an alternative which I thought was an ample compromise: renting a house for all 6 of us in Suffolk so that we could spend a week together, but have some flexibility - my dad could keep the FH company if they didn't want to go out so much, and I could take the girls and MB out, or my dad could take the girls and MB out for a meal, etc.  It would also be close to the end of the A14 if I needed to get the FH back in this direction to hospital.......we are looking for suitable holiday cottages as ideally we need it all on the level as my dad's now used to living in a bungalow.  Suffolk would be great as we have never taken the girls to Suffolk, the FH wants to visit Adnam's, and my dad loves Southwold.....

Frugally speaking, I haven't been very focussed on the cash lately, and need to get to grips with it in all seriousness, as we have plans afoot for a downstairs wetroom....

News update

I've been thinking a lot about what you lovely friends have suggested, and I know that everything you say is wise - thank you.

I have spent time remembering peaceful times in Norfolk when we have been on holiday.

I'm sure that there are other good times ahead, and we will plan some time "away" but close to home this summer.  Actually, a day out here and there will be a treat, because both the FH and I are very glad to sleep in our own bed at night and are always a little unsettled on holidays.

I have had an interview at the Circuit Preachers' meeting this week, last night in fact, and they are pleased with the progress I am making, albeit slow!  They have agreed that I can carry on, thank goodness, because I have already started the next part of the course.  Now I have to have a "trial" service, which is going to happen later this month, at which two preachers and a church steward will assess the service and report back to the meeting.

In other news, I have been getting to grips with Jillian Michaels' way of exercising!  I started easy every other day last week, and moved up to daily repeats of this set of exercises - the level one is about my standard, and I can manage it, so I am happy to continue to build my stamina up - 2 minutes of jumping jacks, jump rope, boxing and butt kicks has the sweat actually dripping off me....I am delighted to report that I have lost 2lb this week, and several inches as well - one each off my waist and hips - so I feel inspired to carry on.  Whether I shall ever progress to level three, we shall see.  It brings me about an hour to myself each morning, including the half hour for the workout and then half an hour to have a shower and dry my hair afterwards - this is a seriously sweaty workout!

And I am knitting......

A quick thought for tonight

because I should be asleep!

Several people just lately have told me that I am taking good care of the FH, that he is being well looked after, etc and it has made me think about ME, to be honest.  If I am to take the best care of him, I need to look after myself as well, so I am planning some measures to improve my own wellbeing........knitting and chocolate spring to mind, as well as long, hot baths and more sleep!  However, I am not sure that they are the best kinds of regime, and I do think that a bit more exercise might do my backside and my headspace some good, so that is something I will look at, and perhaps work on, this week.  Prioritising is the key, I believe.

All ideas welcome.  What do you do to take care of #1?  I know that several of you are carers too, so I'd be glad to hear from you in particular.  Thank you, as always.

Flowers for you

We went to see UJ on the way home from the hospital on Friday, and I couldn't resist taking these photos of the gorgeous flowers in his garden!  I can't name them all, but they are just stunning, and it looks like a real little patch of cottage garden.

Above - this is the area which I photographed last year and have as my header.

I thought that it would be lovely to share them all with you kind readers.

Thank you

Thank you very much for all the supportive comments on yesterday's news, and thank you for the prayers and the hugs.  Knowing that people all over are thinking of us is amazing, and we are very grateful.

We've had a quiet weekend, as you can imagine, somewhat reflective, and somehow a little bit different, but yet much the same as it ever was.  I've done several hours of digging over the two days, and have found it strangely meditative, a time when I am so involved in what I am doing that I can do it unconsciously enough to let my mind free - and times like those are precious.

I'll get back to normal blogging this week - many things remain the same!  Your thoughts for the EFG and other A level students would be appreciated this week as she begins her exams.  First one tomorrow afternoon...

Much love to everyone - and thank you all once again.