Lived Experience Forum

[Razzle]

@Zoe7 , school hols have started here,

the weather hasn’t been real kind today.  We had a real taste of spring yesterday, but back to winter today.  I’m a summer person, 40° is my happy place - I am hating this weather with a passion.

Hope Toby likes his vet visits.  When I was a kid we had a cocker spaniel.  When she had to go to the vet we would walk her on a lead but could only get as far as his driveway - then she would flop to the ground and lie there as a dead weight.  We’d have to try and pick her up but she would stay floppy and she’d slip through your arms like water - didn’t help that she was significantly heavier than she should have been 😁😁

I can understand now why you won’t be looking forward to going into a support roll.  Seems unfair that they can pull the teaching roll out from under you.

[Zoe7]

We had a cocker spaniel when I was a kid too @Razzle He was a lovely boy but was really my Mum's dog - he just loved her. Toby actually loves the vet - he runs to her when he sees her which is kind of adorable. When he was a puppy he was a real wriggler - you could barely hold him down to get checked out but he grew out of that pretty quickly. He has always been a snuggler though and has barely left my side from the day I got him. I love coming home to his smiley, happy, jumpy little self - he always greets me like I have been gone for weeks and I love that - makes me smile every day 

It was 27 here yesterday but much cooler tonight - and very windy. The rain is definitely on its way again but I have my washing dry and in so that is a bonus. I like the warmer weather too but 40 is too hot for me. I can do low 30s but much prefer the mid to high 20s. Winter here usually gets pretty cold but we seem to have had a milder winter this year with only a few really cold days. A couple of weeks ago we were watching the hail fall at school it was so cold lol 

Unfortunately I am an 'extra' at the school this year as I did not want to return to my previous school. I am going to contact HR in the holidays though as I am a permanent employee and want my own class again next year. I already know I won't be back at this school so they will need to find me something and hopefully that is a permanent transfer.

[Razzle]

@Zoe7  I have my fingers crossed for you, I really hope you get a position at a great school. 🤞🤞

I just got a text from my SIL, she’s sent me some photos of what I’m “missing out” on this weekend.  I don’t think she’s trying to be mean, but it’s pretty hurtful to be rubbing my nose in it.   

[Zoe7]

Oh Hon that is really hard for you. Surely she doesn't understand how that makes you feel but it is not what you need either. It is demoralising when we know we can't be somewhere we want to be but have that reminder of what is happening without us. I wish you could have joined them for the weekend @Razzle 

[Razzle]

@Zoe7   My time will come, I’ve been telling myself that a lot lately.  Finding it harder and harder to believe with everything that’s going on, but I need to be able to tell myself something positive.

[Zoe7]

Keep telling yourself that @Razzle It is a really positive outlook Hon 

You have a lot of responsibility with your Mum and have had a lot of heartache with your family so whilst things are not great right now hopefully they can only improve 

[Razzle]

Hi @Zoe7   Just checking in.  I’m pretty sure you are on school holidays at the

moment.  Hopefully you are getting this lovely warm weather and also getting some well deserved rest.

[Zoe7]

Hey @Razzle Thanks for checking in - have been thinking of you 

I am on school holidays and I spent the first few days resting/sleeping. Been cleaning up and sorting out my garage the last couple of days. It is a big job but it is slowly getting there. I needed to move a lot of it out to sort it and then put it all back in. I did a lot of that today but it has been really warm here so had to have lots of breaks. I am nowhere near up to where I would like to be but it is supposed to rain tomorrow so I needed to bring some things inside the house. I can sort stuff inside then take it out to the garage tomorrow or Saturday - whenever it is clear. 

I have to take Cat to the vet tomorrow as she is not eating. As you would expect I am really worried about her so hoping we get some answers quickly. Going to stay occupied tonight so I don;t think about it too much before tomorrow.

How are you doing?

[Razzle]

Oh no @Zoe7 I thought Cat was behaving since the last scare.  I have my fingers crossed for you that Cat is just being fussy 🤞🤞

Things are going ok here, had a bit of a scare a couple of nights ago.  I went to a hair appointment which I’d forgotten about, only realised when I got my reminder text Monday afternoon, so didn’t leave much time to psych myself up.  I wasn’t stressed so felt like I could handle it.  I even managed to unclench my jaw during the head massage at the basin, so a win for me I guess.

My daughter had called in and stayed with mum while I was out.  She met me at the car out front of mums when I got home.  Mum had been asking her all afternoon if she could take her home.  I got inside and she asked me straight away if I could taker her home.  I asked

where her home was and she said she couldn’t remember.  I walked her through the house and she recognised things but couldn’t grasp that it was her home.

She got a little frightened about it but I was able to distract her with getting her to help prepare tea.  She asked another couple of times that night.  I sent a group text to my brothers telling them what was going on.  My SIL who’s a nurse texted back asking if she had a UTI.  Aaaah yes, that made sense.  I got mum to collect a urine sample the nex morning and had the dr test it, sure enough it was a UTI.  She’s on antibiotics but she’s back to normal now (well, her normal).

I don’t envy your cleaning of the garage, our garage used to be our dumping ground, until I noticed the huntsmen or wolf spiders moving in and then the big cleanup would be on - I REALLY dislike spiders 🕷 😱

[Zoe7]

It is good that you know what is wrong with your Mum and it is being treated @Razzle It must have been really worrying for you though with her being so disorientated. You have taken on such a huge responsibility but doing such a wonderful job. 

I do remember you telling me before that hair appointments are not easy for you so you did so well to get through that with little stress - that is progress and a real positive 👍

I am not a fan of spiders either but luckily I have mainly daddy long-legs around here and those I am okay with ...I actually quite like them  My garage has been turned upside down for a couple of years since it first flooded. I had to move things out of the water and things literally got thrown on top of each other. Then last year I lost part of my roof and it flooded again in a storm so more things damaged. The roof is fixed and a wall put up on the fence side so it is now waterproof again. There is a lot I have had to throw out so the trailer is pretty full already but no doubt there will be more to add to that. I have one more section to go through and then I can start sorting and stacking things on the shelves I put up. I also need to hang some hooks on one side and that will get everything else off the floor and out of the way. 

After I take Cat to the vet tomorrow I will get stuck into it again. I would ideally like to have it all done by the end of the weekend so I can do some things for myself in my last week of holidays. Unfortunately it is supposed to rain much of next week so it will be inside things but I have a painting staring at me that wants to be revisited so that I might be able to work on.

Do you have any plans for tomorrow or the weekend?