Almost Over

These two weeks of school holidays have flown by. I hate that the house is like a bomb has gone off, but I have loved being out of routine this time and loved not having to rush to get out the door for school every morning. It's been nice not having to get up at 6am to roll Noah over so he can have his puffer, neb, meds and feed so I have enough time to get him to empty his bladder, get him in his body and feet splints and dressed and in his wheelchair, as well as dressing and feeding Kobe, and making sure the boys are having their breakfast, packing their bags, getting dressed, brushing their teeth and don't have weetbix all over their face as they walk out the door! If the day looks like it is sunny then I also try to get a load of washing out on the line before we leave as well. Oh I'm dreading next week already! It's worth it once they are all at school though - I will just keep reminding myself of that!

I have only worked a few shifts these school holidays as I have wanted to keep whole days free so we can do more with the boys without me having to rush home because I am going to work. I only just realised the other day that I love my work so much, that I forgot to put my time sheet in last week! I really don't care about the money at all and would still do the job as a volunteer if I had to. It's the best job hanging out with kids with disabilities and their families, and just having fun! I have 'worked' a couple of shifts at ten pin bowling and also a shift with one family at Launceston Aquatic. So fun!

Today while I was 'working' (it should be called 'going to have fun', rather than 'going to work'!) I was talking to one of the Mum's. She is a single Mum with two daughters - one has an intellectual disability. She was telling me how her teenage daughter (without the disability) is a really good kid, but how she can see she is changing a bit lately. She is wanting to hang out with her friends more, and is pulling away from the family more. She no longer comes with them ten pin bowling.

It's actually something I have been thinking a lot about lately. There are many times when I think I just want a break from it all. Times when I'm sick of the house being a mess and me cleaning it and it being a mess again within two hours, sick of getting up early and getting boys ready for school, sick of changing nappies, sick of getting meds and feeds ready, sick of suctioning all the time, sick of cooking tea all the time, sick of getting up in the night to boys who don't want to sleep........

.....then I look at other families who's kids are older and they don't have any of that anymore. I hear so many parents say how their teenage kids don't want to hang out and do 'family stuff' anymore and then I think how we really are in the best years of our lives. The boys are at the ages where they are heaps of fun, they want to hang out with us and each other and just us doing something small with them means so much. I hope it will always be like that, but I know it will change (but hopefully not too much!).

The thing I always have in the back of my mind is that Noah will not always be here with us. It's not something I dwell on, but something that is always there to think about and it makes me appreciate times like these last school holidays - where he is really well and happy and we can enjoy just spending time together with the boys.







I hope we will have a lot more school holidays together like these last ones, where the boys are still happy to hang out and have fun with us - doing just the simple things in life. I feel very blessed that Aaron is a teacher and we have the time together. Housework can always wait.