the week that was
Aug. 30th, 2011 03:56 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
llywelaOkay, so I have had my sister, her husband and his niece staying with me for almost a week and a half now, and as weeks go, this one has been rather...chaotic, shall we say. They were originally due to go home today, but...no, that's not quite true. They were originally due to arrive three days earlier than they actually did and go home again over the weekend just gone. That plan was changed at the last minute so that they'd arrive on the Saturday instead of the Wednesday and go home today. Then Ray was offered a day's work in Bristol tomorrow, and since it is easier to get there from Cardiff than Maidstone, they asked to stay on an extra day. Now, apparently, they are going to go home on Thursday. I shall wait and see if that actually happens or not. I'd like to say that they have to go home on Thursday as both Deb and Shanei are due back in school on Friday, but nothing is ever quite that simple!
Some of the things that have happened to derail what was intended to be a relaxing family holiday spent day-tripping from home.
1. Ray's brother Anthony wanted Deb and Ray to bring his youngest two children with them on this holiday to stay with me - that's Johnnie and Hannah, aged 8 and 9, who were with us last summer. He did not, however, want to have to pay for them to have this holiday, in fact got quite angry at the suggestion that he should at least contribute the cost of their transport from Cornwall to Cardiff and back again, if not pay for their keep and entry fees over the course of the week. Deb and Ray simply can't afford to both do him the favour of looking after his children and pay for the privilege. The debate raged right up till the last minute. The children ended up not coming.
2. Ray has been out of work for a while now, since the ambulance firm he was working for went bust and made him redundant, and he has been sinking deeper and deeper into depression over it. Deb says he attempted suicide earlier in the summer, although hasn't shared any details of how serious an attempt it was. He's putting on a good show of normality for the family, but is really struggling and needs a lot of support. And with Ray out of work, he and Deb are struggling financially just at the moment.
3. Shanei's mum, Susan, who is schizophrenic, suddenly upped and took herself back to South Africa last week, without bothering to say goodbye to any of her children. Nei has been very upset about this, and consequently even more needy, emotional and attention-seeking than usual.
4. Deb came down with a short-lived but nasty vomiting bug.
5. Deb tripped and badly sprained her ankle on the Tuesday - the bruising has to be seen to be believed, and she still can't walk far or fast even now, a week later.
6. My Aunty Lel came out of hospital last week after almost five months, which is wonderful...but rather bad timing, bang in the middle of our holiday. Mum and I gave up a day out on the Tuesday to clean her flat ready for her to come home, and I had already volunteered to spend a couple of nights with her while she settled back in. She came out of hospital last Wednesday, and I spent almost the entire day at her flat. I was there to meet Lel when the ambulance dropped her off at home. I was there to meet a little chap who was installing her emergency alarm for if she has a fall or needs anything. I was there to meet another little chap who was installing a bath chair. I was there to meet a team of physiotherapists come to talk through her rehab programme. I was there to meet a representative from the reablement team come to talk through her care package (she's got carers coming to the flat three times a day to help her wash, dress and eat while she gets her strength back and slowly becomes more independent again). I was there to clean her up when she vomited (several times, in fact). I was there when she spilled a cup of tea over her nebuliser and blew the fuse, so I had to phone the hospital and arrange for a replacement. I was there to talk her daughter down from a panic attack when she phoned in a panic because her mum hadn't answered a text immediately - Vee is neurotic at the best of times and Lel's illness has made her worse than ever. It was a busy day! I stayed at Lel's flat on Wednesday and Thursday night - she is settling back in well and is thrilled to be home, having been bored rigid in hospital all this time, but she's still very weak and can't shake the nausea (caused mainly by the meds she's on). Just moving around the flat with her zimmer frame is enough to wear her out - it is going to be a long, long time still before she gets back to anything approaching her old self, if ever.
7. The weather has been a bit hit and miss - sunny spells interspersed with torrential rain and dramatic lightning storms.
8. Chelsea's beloved cat Ginger, brother of my Alfie, went missing the day before the Kent contingent arrived. This is very, very out of character. Ginger was born in that house and has lived there all his life; he's the most well-adjusted cat on the planet, and although his mother frequently goes walkabout for days at a time, Gingie has never stayed out overnight even once in his life. He has now been missing for a week and a half and Chelsea is distraught.
9. Put two hormonal, insecure and emotional teenage girls together and storms are inevitable. Chelsea and Shanei love each other dearly, but don't understand each other at all, especially since they don't actually see each other all that often. They are both very touchy and easily upset at the moment - best friends one moment, each convinced the other hates her the next. Then add a shy, nervous yet playful and flirtatious teenage boy to the mix - we've had Chelsea's boyfriend Jamie with us for most of the week; he's slept over at my parents' house more often than he's been at home this summer! There've been tears, there've been tantrums, there've been misunderstandings and melodramatics, every slight disagreement is like the end of the world... On the bright side, however, Jamie has now seen Chelsea have a full blown autistic meltdown on more than one occasion and still wants to be with her. They've been going out for nearly five months now and have weathered a lot of storms in that time - as first-time teenage romances go, this one is doing really well so far! He bought her a little necklace with a 'love' pendant yesterday (almost the first time all summer his parents have given him spending money when we've taken him out) - it was very sweet.
Like I said, as holidays go, this last week or so has been pretty chaotic - I was almost glad to return to work today for a chance to rest and relax! We did manage a few trips out and about, however. I'll be back with a picspam or two when I get a chance to upload and sort my photos.
Some of the things that have happened to derail what was intended to be a relaxing family holiday spent day-tripping from home.
1. Ray's brother Anthony wanted Deb and Ray to bring his youngest two children with them on this holiday to stay with me - that's Johnnie and Hannah, aged 8 and 9, who were with us last summer. He did not, however, want to have to pay for them to have this holiday, in fact got quite angry at the suggestion that he should at least contribute the cost of their transport from Cornwall to Cardiff and back again, if not pay for their keep and entry fees over the course of the week. Deb and Ray simply can't afford to both do him the favour of looking after his children and pay for the privilege. The debate raged right up till the last minute. The children ended up not coming.
2. Ray has been out of work for a while now, since the ambulance firm he was working for went bust and made him redundant, and he has been sinking deeper and deeper into depression over it. Deb says he attempted suicide earlier in the summer, although hasn't shared any details of how serious an attempt it was. He's putting on a good show of normality for the family, but is really struggling and needs a lot of support. And with Ray out of work, he and Deb are struggling financially just at the moment.
3. Shanei's mum, Susan, who is schizophrenic, suddenly upped and took herself back to South Africa last week, without bothering to say goodbye to any of her children. Nei has been very upset about this, and consequently even more needy, emotional and attention-seeking than usual.
4. Deb came down with a short-lived but nasty vomiting bug.
5. Deb tripped and badly sprained her ankle on the Tuesday - the bruising has to be seen to be believed, and she still can't walk far or fast even now, a week later.
6. My Aunty Lel came out of hospital last week after almost five months, which is wonderful...but rather bad timing, bang in the middle of our holiday. Mum and I gave up a day out on the Tuesday to clean her flat ready for her to come home, and I had already volunteered to spend a couple of nights with her while she settled back in. She came out of hospital last Wednesday, and I spent almost the entire day at her flat. I was there to meet Lel when the ambulance dropped her off at home. I was there to meet a little chap who was installing her emergency alarm for if she has a fall or needs anything. I was there to meet another little chap who was installing a bath chair. I was there to meet a team of physiotherapists come to talk through her rehab programme. I was there to meet a representative from the reablement team come to talk through her care package (she's got carers coming to the flat three times a day to help her wash, dress and eat while she gets her strength back and slowly becomes more independent again). I was there to clean her up when she vomited (several times, in fact). I was there when she spilled a cup of tea over her nebuliser and blew the fuse, so I had to phone the hospital and arrange for a replacement. I was there to talk her daughter down from a panic attack when she phoned in a panic because her mum hadn't answered a text immediately - Vee is neurotic at the best of times and Lel's illness has made her worse than ever. It was a busy day! I stayed at Lel's flat on Wednesday and Thursday night - she is settling back in well and is thrilled to be home, having been bored rigid in hospital all this time, but she's still very weak and can't shake the nausea (caused mainly by the meds she's on). Just moving around the flat with her zimmer frame is enough to wear her out - it is going to be a long, long time still before she gets back to anything approaching her old self, if ever.
7. The weather has been a bit hit and miss - sunny spells interspersed with torrential rain and dramatic lightning storms.
8. Chelsea's beloved cat Ginger, brother of my Alfie, went missing the day before the Kent contingent arrived. This is very, very out of character. Ginger was born in that house and has lived there all his life; he's the most well-adjusted cat on the planet, and although his mother frequently goes walkabout for days at a time, Gingie has never stayed out overnight even once in his life. He has now been missing for a week and a half and Chelsea is distraught.
9. Put two hormonal, insecure and emotional teenage girls together and storms are inevitable. Chelsea and Shanei love each other dearly, but don't understand each other at all, especially since they don't actually see each other all that often. They are both very touchy and easily upset at the moment - best friends one moment, each convinced the other hates her the next. Then add a shy, nervous yet playful and flirtatious teenage boy to the mix - we've had Chelsea's boyfriend Jamie with us for most of the week; he's slept over at my parents' house more often than he's been at home this summer! There've been tears, there've been tantrums, there've been misunderstandings and melodramatics, every slight disagreement is like the end of the world... On the bright side, however, Jamie has now seen Chelsea have a full blown autistic meltdown on more than one occasion and still wants to be with her. They've been going out for nearly five months now and have weathered a lot of storms in that time - as first-time teenage romances go, this one is doing really well so far! He bought her a little necklace with a 'love' pendant yesterday (almost the first time all summer his parents have given him spending money when we've taken him out) - it was very sweet.
Like I said, as holidays go, this last week or so has been pretty chaotic - I was almost glad to return to work today for a chance to rest and relax! We did manage a few trips out and about, however. I'll be back with a picspam or two when I get a chance to upload and sort my photos.
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no subject
Date: 2011-08-30 04:27 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-08-31 09:43 am (UTC)Best of luck with your move back to Edinburgh this week, btw. Hope you're feeling better now :)
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Date: 2011-08-30 05:59 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-08-31 09:44 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-08-31 03:30 am (UTC)Hope everything gets better, and glad to hear your aunt is okay, she's lucky to have someone like you so devoted to family!
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Date: 2011-08-31 09:48 am (UTC)Never ends.
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Date: 2011-08-31 09:14 pm (UTC)Poor Deb - she must be wondering if she's meant to have anything simple and straightforward in her life at all!
no subject
Date: 2011-09-01 08:21 am (UTC)Ray spoke to Shanei's real dad last night and confirmed that Susan was lying through her teeth, hasn't spoken to him at all. He is hopefully going to send over a copy of Nei's birth certificate for her, so she won't have to ask Susan again.