Rick's Christmas Homework

Photos Copyright: Maggie May

The Christmas and New Year period went very fast and now my daughter and grandsons have gone home and it seems very quiet here now.

I was very grateful to my daughter for all the help she gave me with the mounting up of cleaning jobs that neither Harry nor I have been able to do very easily. I thought I had tidied up the place before she came, but she got to hidden places and dealt with them, often in secret.

Now I will have to make a better effort to do regular tidy up jobs and get rid of surplus clutter on a daily basis.

New Years Resolution? I don't think so, but I will endeavour to do a little more and often.

When the grandsons came to visit, Rick who is on the Autistic scale (nearer the top) and who isn't exactly an easy child being 15 yrs old, brought an art project to do here because he had not completed it at school.

It seemed to be a mammoth task and involved bags of material and my ironing board and iron and a good chunk of my back room. This went on for days during the holiday and the difficulty was getting him to start the work in the first place. He seemed to think it was a very overwhelming thing to have to do and he was very down hearted about it.

Rick does not believe in homework and seems to be constantly at loggerheads with his teachers who make him stay in at lunch times to complete it. This suits Rick fine as he doesn't like noise and would much prefer to be in a quiet place and to retreat into his own safe little world. There was a dead line to finish this work and he is a very slow but thorough worker. He had to follow a plan and complete a collage of nine squares individually made and I assume they will be fitted together somehow at school and will go towards his exam result.

Although it was a great effort on our part to get him motivated, when he did get going, it started to take shape and on the last day of the holiday, he completed the last square to much cheering and encouragement. I took photos and told him it would be going on my blog. He was so thrilled to have finished it on time and the look of satisfaction on his face was a treat to see.

I would have loved to do this when I was his age, but would have probably worked a little on each square to get the general effect first. However Rick likes to work meticulously one square at a time, so that only he new what each square was supposed to be and he left the middle bit of the face till the last.

So well done Rick! Hope the school like it and realise what a tremendous amount of time and effort you spent on it.

The Other Side Of The Door

Photo Copyright:Maggie May

The door of the new year has now been opened and we are getting on with life in 2011.

The Christmas decorations have been taken down and things are slowly getting back to normal.

My daughter is now back home on the east coast and the house seems very quiet.

She rang to say that Rick, who is autistic, was moaning to her that he was homesick.

"What do you mean?" She said, "You are home."

"I miss everyone in Bristol." He replied.

Once they all got over their illnesses, the cousins played very well together in the attic and only emerged when they got hungry.

This morning, I was rather taken back when I saw what they had done up there. The whole room had been rearranged with bedding spread all over the place and they'd made it into little dens.

Oh well...... they did enjoy it.

Its back to school tomorrow for Amber and Millie, in fact Rick and Dean went back today. Its After School Club for me too.

Lily, the rabbit has made a remarkable recovery. I have had to dismantle the small part of the pen she was cooped up in. I thought she might try to injure herself in her quest to jump out. So even though I was advised not to put the two rabbits together, I decided to go with my instincts and my knowledge of my rabbits personalities, and leave them together permanently.

Well, Ash so far, hasn't pulled out her stitches and they seemed so pleased to snuggle together again. It is a joy to watch them.

In fact Lily has been bouncing about in sheer delight. I am sure she has recovered far more quickly because she was part of a bonded pair.

Lets hope the vet was just playing on the side of caution and that I won't live to regret it because the stitches are not due to come out until next week.

Happy New Year

Photo Copyright: Maggie May

Like the photo of the steps leading through the archway, for most of us the way to the top and round the corner is unknown. I wonder what this unknown New Year will have in store for us?

Last year seemed a struggle with health issues for us and I wasn't sure that I would make 2011. Now here we are again standing on the threshold of another year.

When my daughter arrived here for Christmas, my youngest grandson came with a terrible cough and cold and a high temperature and didn't feel well enough to appreciate Christmas. Within a very short time, Deb caught it from Dean and Rick wasn't too well either.

Sam, my son, is now really ill with the same thing but so far, anyway, Harry and I keep chugging on.

Deb goes back to the east coast on Monday so I am hoping that she will feel better for the remaining days.

My little rabbit, Lily, started trying to mount Ash, her foster brother, again and he didn't like it at all. She was one very determined lady. Details of the last time it happened in my post here.

This time she was even more persistent so I rang the vet and asked her if she could spay a 4 month old rabbit as soon as possible.

There was a vacancy for the operation on the very next day.

So off I went last Thursday with my randy little rabbit in a carrier. I was almost tearful to leave her to this awful operation and was wondering how Ash would cope without her, too.

However, Ash enjoyed all the extra pampering and feeding of treats and was only a bit sullen as he sat hunched in his cage waiting for her return.

Three o'clock (the pick up hour) slowly crept round and off we went to collect her from the vets.

We'd had strict instructions that they should not be together for the next ten days so we are back to square one, with the large run divided. The rabbits can see each other and sniff and kiss but that is all.

Lily was very sleepy and tense when we brought her back and she'd been drugged with pain relief and antibiotics.

I knew I had to get her drinking and eating as soon as possible.

I got up in the night and dipped my finger in her drink and let her lick the water off. She refused all food though. She seemed grateful that I was trying to help her.She looked at me for a long time and then came over to be nearer and enjoyed being smoothed. Then she went over to her water bowl and took a few sips.

Next morning she did seem brighter and ate a few mouthfuls of greens and some hay. Just a few mouthfuls.

So the New Year will be a new beginning for her too. Hopefully she will turn into the little sister and companion that Ash needed.

I'd just like to wish you all a very Happy New Year and to tell you all how much it means to me that you follow my blog and faithfully comment.

May the coming year be kind to you all.

Incidentally, it is going to be the year of the rabbit in the Chinese New Year.

New Years Day Walk

Photos copyright: Maggie May

I have really enjoyed having my daughter and the grandsons for the Christmas period. Some of it was a bit grim while the chemo did its work, but after the sixth day, I started to steadily get stronger and I now feel almost normal (whatever that means).

I am really grateful that I was so well looked after by my lovely daughter, who changed and washed bedding and made tasty meals, did stacks of ironing and sat and held my hand when I needed her to.

It is like a bad dream now. A bit like childbirth....... hard at the time, but hard to remember exactly what it was like afterwards.

Dread the next one though scheduled for the 12th January.

On New Year's Day it was cold but sunny and I wanted to go on a longish walk.

Bristol has some lovely walks and we were taken by car to Clifton Suspension Bridge and walked all round the cliff tops and walked across the bridge and back. I remembered to take my camera and the youngest grandson joined the many on the slide who have helped keep the rocks polished by their bottoms for the next generation. I remember doing that myself as a child! Ouch! Not this time though!

Happy New Year

Happy New Year everyone!

From my point of view, I hope it will be a better one than last year!

I can remember last New Year's Eve (2007), celebrating with my daughter and grandsons, who happened to be holidaying with us. We'd all stayed up late to let in the New Year with a family friend. We'd played games with the children while we sat round the table and drank wine (the children didn't, honestly!)

Little did we know then, that within the coming year, Deb would be left a widow. Just as well we never know what is in store for us. Now I am being a damper...... but it does make you wonder.

Once again, the family have been staying with us over the Christmas holiday and we are about to let in another New Year and we cannot help but be slightly apprehensive about what the year holds for us. 

  

On Boxing Day we went to London Victoria by coach ( a rather bizarre thing to do as Deb was getting quite near to home again and had already travelled across England once, to be with us!) We had backtracked to London to see a musical in the West End, *Joseph* starring Lee Mead.

After the show, which we all enjoyed, Deb had been hoping to get her programme autographed but all she received from Lee, after queuing, was a pre signed photo, which was better than nothing, I suppose. She never got to chat to him, though.

I travelled quite happily back to Victoria by tube train. As long as I have someone with me who knows what they are doing, I don't mind the Tube a bit!

Deb has caught up with a good few "old" friends from school and her nursing training days and we have visited relatives and travelled to The Midlands to see Deb's mother in law, who had been staying with her other son over Christmas. A difficult time for her, as you can imagine.

Rick and Dean, my two grandson's have been great while staying with us and we have been glad of their company. Rick, the oldest who was recently diagnosed with autism, seems to be doing very well and has lost the anger that he displayed after the death of his father. He is much calmer now, and did so much better at school last term, probably because he has a special helper.

Deb and I have been reading some very helpful books on the subject of autism. I have found this to be particularly helpful in trying to understand how my grandson's mind might be working and how confused he must be when I don't understand why he sometimes doesn't respond to me the way I would like him to. I realize that I must find different approaches if I want to make breakthroughs concerning behaviour and understanding what makes him tick. Good progress has been made with those things, during the holiday, though.

One of the hardest things to deal with is the fact that Rick will only eat certain brands of food like bread and the soya milk that he has to have.  If we cannot get hold of a particular brand, he refuses to eat or drink it. (He knows it is different without seeing the container, just by taste). As he is so thin, we cannot just let him go without.

Deb has joined a few organizations and went on some trips with the boys before she came to us and she seems to be building up a better social life now.

One thing that books have taught me is just how diverse this condition is and how different each child is one from another. No easy answers, much of it is to follow instincts and wait and see.

You might be wondering how I am finding time to read these books! Deb brought a few over with her, lent by Rick's school, so obviously I have to read them fast. Every time I have an opportunity, I open up and read some more. I love books anyway and have a whole stack of books waiting to be read that I had as presents!

Our granddaughters, Amber and Millie, and parents, went back to Japan before Christmas, to visit the other grandparents and relatives, who really miss them all. They are due to fly back very soon and sleep off their jet lag before school starts again. 

Anyway....... Happy New Year Folks!

Hoping that 2009 will prove to be a good year for you all and I wish everyone peace.

Things look frightening in the middle east and the credit crunch is making our lives difficult, but surely there is always the possibility of peace in our own lives and this is my wish for you all...... peace.