Life Happens

HELLO!!! I am sooooo sorry I have been AWOL.

I don't have a note to explain my blog absence, however, I may be able to shed some light on the matter in this post.

So, grab a cuppa, find a comfy seat and I will fill you in ...

Once April was over and I had blogged every day about what I was grateful for, I must admit, I was a bit blogged out.  It was hard blogging every day. Not so much finding something to blog about, but the time it takes to sit down and put that into words, particularly ones that will keep my readers hanging off the edge of their seat mildly interested. The actual blogging about gratitude however is something I want to continue with once I get myself back on track as it was very therapeutic.

The couple of posts that did follow are an indicator as to where my head was as I wrote about balance in life and a situation around my youngest son LJ and school.

So yes, I have had some challenges with LJ and school. Thankfully he is at a school where the people are so committed to their individual roles and as a team, well, I call them "The Dream Team".  You see I have had much greater challenges with LJ before in relation to school, hence, I moved him when I found the right people for the job.

Sadly, however, having the right people doesn't immediately make for the perfect environment but it does help work towards that.  NSW Department of Education is a big organisation and those who are employed within that Department are required to conform to certain policies, regulations, procedures, guidelines and budgets and although their hearts are in the right place, their values are impeccable and their ideas are at the forefront of Disability Education, they are limited as to what they can ACTUALLY do.

Lets say for now though, we have found a solution that is a great compromise even with all the barriers the Department puts in the way.

MJ has had his fair share of crisis also, although a bit too personal to share here at this time, maybe one day in the future.

What I can share is a little more boring and I am sure most of you can relate to which is, Teenager/Mother communication standards 101. Wow, I thought I knew how to deal with this, after all, I was a teenager once too you know? Lets just say this whole experience has opened my eyes to who I am now.

And then there is the debate surrounding subject selection for HSC and ATAR.  Thank dog MJ has an idea of what he is doing there; I'm lost!

The school holidays are always a test for me too.  Being a single Mum and having two kids that are always presenting me with something to keep me on my toes.  Not having any family support and no access to ongoing respite makes things a bit tedious at times like holidays.

This set of holidays just gone was a little different as I did give the local Vacation Care a try.  Once again, it is about the people you deal with.  While this organisation is a Mainstream provider, they really covered all bases to meet LJs needs.  What a great job.

We agreed on a trial of one half day each week.  LJ does attend before school care with them twice a week for about an hour these days as I now have a very part time job on those days (more about that in another post) so he had become familiar with the staff and it was a great opportunity to build on those relationships.  It was somewhat of a success and therefore gives us a base to build on for the future.

I suppose while I have been in a state of heightened anxiety, finally some of the ground work I have been doing for the last 8 years has brought about some good outcomes more recently too.

I have finally been informed that I have been approved for a Respite Package (given my complete absence of family, extended family, local friends, colleagues or associates) to provide me with any level of support. That also came about finally as a result of having the right conversation with the right person to ensure my case was being given the right level of priority.

Yes, this is all very boring. It is however, my life.

I shall leave it for now and simply mention, this was written in July 2013, so you know, it took me two months to actually hit the publish button.

The reason for that ... well, life happens. :-)