April

A big month for us. The ending of our wonderful holiday to Heron Island, a Covid infection,

easter school holidays and a school camp.

Definitely ready for it to be May.

Images

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As a parent, there really is no better feeling than seeing your kids grow. Prior to this trip we have practiced snorkelling in the pool for the past couple of months- and it paid off.
It gave the kids the confidence to be comfortable.Watching them snorkel with sea turtles and stingrays and reef sharks (safe to swim with),pushing themselves to swim further and discover their own strength was the best part of our travels.

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The novelty of seeing these land dwelling birds everywhere never got old on our visit to Heron Island. They would zip in front of you when you were walking, run under your chairs in the restaurant and wander unabashed into your accomodations and rifle through your clothes. Every so often they would make a noise that sounded like a fart, and we would giggle and blame each other every time.

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Last night,after walking Penny, we discovered that we couldn’t get the front door and that someone had engaged a lock that we never used and didn’t bring a key for. I am guessing that we will never know who that someone was, as the after hours, Sunday call out to the locksmith was extremely expensive, and the general mood was pretty chilly. No yelling or accusations, just a bit frosty. Most expensive dog walk ever.

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We have our first COVID positive family member. My husband tested positive this morning and we are all in isolation. He is staying in the spare room. The laundry separates the main body of our house from the guest area and makes a somewhat easy way to deliver him what he requires without any contact or opening any doors. He sends me a text or calls to ask for things, and I send him a thumbs up emoji when I have delivered them through the doggy door. He has cold and flu symptoms now, hopefully he recovers quickly.

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I can talk to my husband face to face if I stand at the farthest point of the veranda and he talks through the fly screen. At night, when his room is illuminated, he looks like a lion in one of those old dreadful concrete cages that I remember from zoo visits of my youth. I know that we are so very fortunate to have the space to quarantine him separately to the rest of us, but the comparison is not lost on me. He says he is lonely and we are too without him. It is day 5 today and no one else is exhibiting any symptoms, so hopefully we can have him back with us early next week.

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So glad that this is an option. We were one of the last deliveries for the day, just in time for dinner. When you complete your order online, there is a check box asking you if you are unwell or in isolation. If you checked it, the whole delivery could be contactless, how smart is that. Instead of you signing for delivery, the driver takes a time stamped photo of your shopping and sends you text that it has been delivered.

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The area of the house that my husband is isolating in also contains my studio space. This is me staring longingly at it through the window 🤣.I am very fortunate to be working digitally at the moment, so can work pretty much anywhere, but I do miss my studio. Missing my Phil is a given. I do my second RAT test today, and if that is negative, tomorrow morning at 8 ( which will be 7 days since his positive test), I will have my husband and my studio back.

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We are not a super touchy feely family. We hug the kids good morning and goodnight, and I kiss and cuddle my husband when he leaves for work and comes home,but outside of that we all tend to like our own space. During our isolation, my husband was completely seperate from us ( he was covid positive, we weren’t). I was the go between and had to look after everybody, so in an effort to minimise risk to our children, hugging was off the table. Now we are all back together. We don’t spend all of our time hugging, but it sure is nice to have the option if you want or need one.

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I was so impressed with the maturity of my children on our recent holiday to Heron Island. They challenged themselves and were adaptable and open to new experiences. They swam with turtles and rays and sharks ( nice ones).They woke early for dives and adapted all day every day. They were even ok with no WiFi. After checking in our bags for our return to the mainland on the ferry, I was reflecting on how quickly they are growing up. I turned to see them come out of the gift shop with their Dad, each carrying a soft toy, and I smiled big. I loved that they didn’t sensor themselves and think that they were too grown up. I also love that their Dad didn’t tell them that they were too old for stuffed toys. It was a clear reminder that whilst they are big on the outside, they are still forming on the inside. They reminded me not to self sensor. I love soft toys, so maybe next time I’ll get one too.

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Last night I was privileged to be invited to the reopening of the refurbished Hervey Bay Regional Gallery. It was a beautiful evening, made even more stunning by an incredible sunset. It was wonderful seeing all of my fellow artists again and it made me realise just how isolated the whole covid experience has made us. I have work in the Wildflowering by design exhibition currently showing ( which is how I snagged an invite) and will be at the gallery from 11 to 2 on Saturday, the official Opening Day for the gallery.

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The inevitable crash after a weekend of openings, workshops and artist talks. I have had a lovely few days celebrating the reopening of @herveybayregionalgallery but am now exhausted. I had a migraine this afternoon, as is quite common for me in the aftermath of big events, and napped as soon as I got home. Feeling better now, but an early night to come. It was all totally worth it.

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Like many Autistic children, my son hates getting his hair cut. New people, strong smells, looking in the mirror,all make a salon cut very difficult, even when the staff are wonderfully understanding. So I cut his hair at home. He still hates it, but he relented today after much negotiation, as he goes back to school tomorrow and agreed that it was quite unruly. Whilst I cut his hair, very slowly so it didn’t hurt, his Dad went down to the corner shop and bought his favourite strawberry bubblegum. When he arrived home he handed over the gum and they are now playing computer games together- as per the second part of their agreement

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Last night on the campaign trail, our Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, when questioned about future funding for the NDIS ( National Disability Insurance Scheme), indicated that he felt blessed not to have children with disabilities. Well he knows nothing. I have been blessed with a wonderful Autistic son and I am thrilled to be his Mum. It breaks my heart when he is seen as “less than”, because it couldn’t be further from the truth.

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Tomorrow Alby goes away on school camp. For those who have been following along with our story, you will know that camp is a big cluster of new experiences that have previously proven difficult. I attended several of his camps when he was younger with mixed results. For the last two years, he has gone on his own, and unbeknownst to him, I have travelled and stayed in the immediate area of the camp to be on standby just in case. He didn’t need me either time.
His teacher this year is rock solid ,the Learning Enrichment Coordinator is also going along, and Alby is in such a good place right now, that I am staying home. He has been given a fabulous itinerary and activities list that he has been pouring over. His school is flexible and always makes the small alterations with his diet and personal care that he requires. He feels safe and confident with his teachers and peers. We took a great deal of time packing his bags, organising his clothing by day in ziplock bags and involving him in every step of packing. He feels prepared and excited. This will be his seventh school camp and proves that repeated exposure and planning can lead to successful and empowering experiences resulting from circumstances that would otherwise be very stressful and overwhelming. Tomorrow I will wave off his bus with the other Mum’s and whilst I will be ready for a call for assistance I won’t be expecting one.