A Celtic Blessing

May the road rise to meet you,
may the wind be always at your back,
may the sun shine warm upon your face,
may the rains fall soft upon your fields.
Until we meet again,
may God hold you in the hollow of his hand.

Saturday 30 August 2008

Driven to Distraction?

Dad is going even further. From being the driver for all the family (mum has a licence but has not driven for years), when he went to the hospital yesterday, he could not even remember how to sit in a car. Mum sounded so worn out, even though the appointment was through in an hour. We don't think anything registeresd with dad. He was seeing an eye specialist, and one of the things they needed was a sight test. Dad could not even remember what capital letters were! Please don't let this go on much longer!

Tuesday 26 August 2008

A daughter's success

My daughter's results - 4 As, 4 bs and 2 Cs. Roll on the 6th form!

And for those who have missed me - thank you. I have not been in a blogging mood lately. So much has been happening around my life.

As you can see, my daughter got good results in her GCSEs. Academically, people might say she did not do as well as me. I say she has got good, solid results, (A in English, B in Maths) and is going on to the 6th form. When I passed my exams, I had not had a elading role in a pantomime, or joined a street theatre group, nor did I have a girlfriend (boyfriend in her case), so she is a much more rounded person that I was (or may ever be!)

Dad is going downhill so fast. Mum attended a review meeting last week, and the upshot is that the care home he is in now can no longer provide the care he needs. It is a pity, since he was settled there, and the staff thought he was a character. However, over the last few weeks, he has become very aggressive, and they are worried that he could grab another resident and hurt them without meaning to. He is having problems with his catheter, and keeps undressing at all times of the day. So the upshot is that mum, my brother and his wife are going to start searching for a nursing home that can take him. I hope this does not go on too long. It is still wearing mum out, and he has no life at all - just an existence.

So now you know why I have not been around so much. I will try to do better...

Friday 8 August 2008

I am still here...

Yes I know it has been a long time. In that time my contract came through, so I am now permanent. The only difference that makes is that now I can have paid holidays (and boy, am I ready for them!) My shifts are the same, and I have just finished a full set, and am restarting evenings tonight (you know what I mean). At 4pm, I will make my merry way into work, and do the first of 7 evenings. And then...holiday! I have taken my week of nights off, so that 7 days holiday gives me 12 days off! I hope to do some decorating in that time (I have doors that need painting) but they need good weather as I have to take them off to paint them.

Talking of the weather, what happened to summer? If anyone has seen it, can we have it back please? The weather here has been pretty awful overe the last couple of weeks - rain, drizzle and low cloud. Today is a better day (so my washing is out) and then rain tomorrow. Though the weather man today said summer has been wetter than usual - the third wettest on record.