It’ll be worth it


We are in Wales as I write this. Spending a week at Little C’s grandmas caravan whilst work on our kitchen is being done. I was under no illusion that this would be relaxing. But we are on our third day and so far it’s mainly consisted of arguing, bickering, crying and sulking (all of us, not just Little C!). But in all honesty there have been some really good parts too.

Little C took a full day to get back to being his normal self after we had arrived. So day one was particularly hard as he could barely speak due to stammering and he was either angry or completely closed off. Going to the on-site arcades tipped him over the edge (rookie mistake on my part). It was a really hard day. Even though his ‘usual self’ is boisterous, noisy and demanding- it’s a relief that he’s back to this.

My solace has been walks on the rocky beach, even in the rain, looking for stones and other interesting finds. Little C’s dad has been out running most days. 

We had a family game night last night (which ended in yet another argument). Games are always hard for Little C as his PDA causes an extreme fear of losing and a constant need to change the rules to suit himself. We made it work for a while by having teams (he copes with losing better if he’s part of a team). Overall it was a fun night. The rum helped!

We went for a 5k walk today along the coastal path. Little C agreed to go in a stroller (he didn’t want to go out and he can’t walk far) and he was so happy and singing all the way. This is the first time in about 3 years that we have used a stroller. Given that Little C is 8, he was pretty huge in it. We probably had a few strange looks but we are SO past caring about things like that. For us it was such a game changer and meant we actually went out somewhere. 

We will be going home at weekend to no kitchen for two weeks and workmen in the house. Little C will hate this. He really dislikes anyone being in the house. In an ideal world we’d give him a few quiet low demand days to recover from the trip. But this won’t happen so I’m expecting another few difficult weeks. But it’ll be worth it! (breathe and repeat) 

If you follow my Facebook page you’ll have heard my recent news about PDA Awareness training in Tameside. I’m so happy about this and anyone who knows me in person will know how much I have pushed to get this. The arrangements are ongoing which I’m juggling alongside my actual job and having Little C being home all day which is a job in itself. We are also still in the process of trying battling to get Little C an EOTAS (out of school education) package. His school place hasn’t worked out so we are trying something else. 

So I’m definitely feeling quite overwhelmed right now. I don’t know why I thought throwing a new kitchen into the mix was a good idea. But I’m sure it’ll be worth it.



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