A New Year

Oh, yes, the title below says it all: this has certainly been a catching up.  I wrote the following just over two years ago and forgot to send this blog.  To keep the record straight, I will now post it.  A new blog will start soon - a new beginning. Swept  ahead by a fierce wind which will mean a whole new story.   In the meantime there have been even more huge changes, especially for our special daughter who now is in special care at the Marne Street Hospital in Andersons Bay, Dunedin.

CATCHING UP - written 20 June 2015


It seems a long time since I wrote a blog.  So much has happened during the past year.  We've experienced many good things but also have dealt with difficult situations.  As most people do!  I am grateful that my mental energy to write has come back after having experienced two shifts in one year plus learning to cope with a different and challenging life situation in our family.   But ... I must admit, the past few years have been full of hurdles and I had to accept that I didn't cope as well as I had expected (and did at previous stressful times).  Sometimes it's hard to live up to our own expectations, let alone those of others.  It is also hard to learn to say 'no' a bit more.  I remember longing to find time to go back to my writing again but whatever it says about me, I just couldn't manage apart from the occasional poem. But now I'm beginning to feel on the right path, having nearly finished the first draft of my memoir.  Several friends who are writing experts read my novel. Their comment: you certainly can write but this book should be written as a memoir. 

We shifted to our apartment on a snowy day in at the end of May 2014, again with the amazing help of Douglas, Victoria and Matt.  A few days earlier we attended the official opening of the main building in this Summerset at Bishopscourt Retirement Village.  It was a lovely ceremony made especially so by the delightful contribution of the Balmacewan Intermediate's school choir and its Kapa Haka group with Sue Methan as conductor and Susan Frame as pianist.

We are happy here.  It's warm, comfortable and it is especially good for Bart as there are many in-house activities he can attend.

View from our living room.

Miriam has settled well in her new home in Bay View Road.  It is always a pleasure to visit her there, to meet up again with the staff and share laughs with Miriam's flatmates.  The house has a wonderful atmosphere, thanks to the dedication of Nylla and her colleagues.

In the meantime Dunedin had a once-in-a-hundred year flood and the house where Miriam lives was badly affected, the water inside reaching 30 cm and outside 40 cm.  Nylla and the other staff were super human beings shifting the other residents out of the house in record time while still managing to get the most necessary items.  The flood was really bad. We as parents had to clean out Miriam's room (other parents were busy too) putting all her bedding, furniture and other precious things into the skip.  Everything was soaking wet.  Thank goodness that Housing New Zealand has started work on the interior.  In the meantime all six residents are now staying in the McGlynn Centre in Mornington.  We are so grateful that they could stay together during the next months until they can move back to Bay View Road again.

Here are some photos of Miriam's birthday last year, I had just delivered a gluten free cake for the CLC group.   Later, at McGlynn I took a photo of the group and their supervisor for that afternoon, Jenny.

Miriam at CLC

Miriam's birthday 2014, ltr Vicky, Jenny, Miriam, Bart, Karen and Stephen.

Jenny and Miriam

 
The Dunedin Community Learning Centre is now in its second year of independent functioning.  So much is done there, so much given in terms of support to ensure that our children are well-looked after and cared for.  They now have a website: www.Dunedin CLC.weebly.com.  Each time I visit I'm impressed by the enthusiasm and professionalism of Trudy Scott and her staff as they keep their clients occupied in a meaningful way.  TOP MARKS!