A Rocky Road

Merv's  has a support worker who comes just once a month while I take Mel to her clinic appointment.  She works for a different agency, one which I worked at myself over five years ago.  She began working with Merv well over a year ago.  I remember when I opened the door and saw her standing there, I was overjoyed to see her.  I first met her at the agency in 2004 while she was a  receptionist, directing phone traffic around the office.  Years later when I was an Assistant Coordinator she asked to become a support worker and we were blessed she came to work with our clients.  She is welcoming, kind and fun.  Today she said she is retiring in April to spend more time with her family.  My heart sank.  It is the feeling of every client and their carer when a 'good one' leaves.  It takes time to build a relationship which is beneficial to both worker and client.  It is about give and take, gratitude and acceptance.  We will miss her.

Fire & Ice

The heat is stifling.  The heat beats mercilessly against my body, my eyes squint in the brightness and my mouth already dry with thirst.  It is 38 degrees Celsius in Perth today and we retreat to the coolness of our recycle air conditioner to escape the fury of nature.  The ground swelters outside, the insects are quiet, there is no wind, no relief from the heat.  The flowers and bushes wilt before my eyes.  Watering hours are before 9am and after 6pm, they will have to toughen it out.  I am thankful for electricity, no matter the cost of it.  Tomorrow they promise a cool change, I'll worry about the bills then.
I think about the rest of the world with the coldest winters reported in the USA and the floods in England.  I say a little prayer and hope everyone is safe and keeping warm.  In Perth our winters seem cold but compared to many other places in the world they are mild and pleasant.  We do not have snow and our average winter day temperature is 18-19 degrees Celsius.  I shudder at the thought of anything colder.  We acclimatise to our environment.  We can change so many things in our lives, but we have no control over the weather.

The Twelfth Day of Christmas

Bushfire smoke envelopes Perth city this morning

As I slid open my bedroom window this morning the air was thick with smoke.  I shut the  window and turned on the radio.  I needed to know if the smoke was local or throughout the metropolitan area.  Mel is asthmatic and I needed to tell her to stay inside until the smoke clears. The smoke was from a bushfire that started in the Mount Roe National Park, just north of Denmark, which is more than 400 kilometres south of Perth.  The smoke was threatening to hang around until after lunch.  I rang Mel and let her know.  I kept Merv inside. He wasn't complaining while he watched England & Australia battle out the fifth test of the Ashes at the Sydney Cricket Ground. Australia triumphed and the match was won two days early!  We were so glad the cricket finished early as we turned the channel to find Lleyton Hewitt going head to head with the amazing Roger Federer in the Brisbane Men's Final.  A thrilling game of two masters, with Lleyton triumphantly  winning. 

Merv's homemade paper chains in our lounge room


A busy day on the twelfth day of Christmas.  Among the busyness of the day I took down all the Christmas decorations,  including the fabulous paper chains Merv made before Christmas with his support worker.

Removing the Gremlins

I roll my eyes, I scratch my head, I sigh.  What is the answer?  I ask myself.  It is with fear and trepidation I enter Mel's bedroom.  She has a large room with an ensuite bathroom.  She lives in a large unit with two housemates.  Everything else in the unit is shared, but her bedroom is her own.  Her room is an eclectic mish-mash of whatever you could imagine.  It is my downfall.  No matter how much I coerce her or endeavour to help her clean it and keep it clean, I continue to fail.
There are bags strewn over the floor which are filled with all number of things. Every inch of space on the dressing table and every surface is filled, often piled high.  The bed is often unmade and the window shut tight.
I enter her room through half closed eyes, slide open her window and declare war.  It is of no use, her army always wins!  I need a strategy.  I go back to the drawing board.  I let my imagination take over and leave it to work.
Then I have my epiphany!  When the kids were little they had so many toys which lay strewn across the floor, too many to play with and too many to pick up after play.  We put away some of the toys and brought them out a few months later.  It worked. 
On Thursday I am going armed with large plastic containers and hoping Mel will be happy to store some of her treasures for a few months before exchanging them.  Less treasure, less gremlins, happy room.  We'll see!

Time for Myself

The day is delightful, I arrive home from treating myself to a movie and it is only 24 degrees Celsius.  A cool breeze entices me to sit outside under the patio to eat my lunch.  I think about the movie I have just seen.  I went early to escape the crowds, but the cinema was almost full.  When I take Merv to the movies we sit where we don't have any steps to negotiate.  Today I bound up as many steps as I can and squeeze in among a couple of spare seats.  Someone is soon sitting next to me.  I had hoped for a little private space, but it is gone.  Everyone is thinking the same as me, but we leave the movie to unravel and enjoy the escapism.  I am watching Judi Dench in, 'Philomena.'   It is based on a true story but it isn't what I expected.  The storyline is a bit skew-wiff, but it still tugs at my heart strings and my eyes mist up.  I think about the movie while I eat my lunch.  I have reheated a curry I found in the freezer.  Merv has gone back to his day centre today and it is my first day of the new year  just to be me.  My reading beckons as well as the housework and washing.  I enjoy a few hours to myself before Merv returns.

Gold Class Winner

At Gold Class: Mel 10kgs lighter and her 'Winner Certificate'

It's only January 2nd and already my day was turned upside down.  It started early with Mel's weekly pension not being paid.  I rang the bank at 8am and they said all government payments had not been processed but they had no idea why.  Oh dear!  I recharged our mobiles online because Optus has stopped automatic recharge for six months.  I don't know why.  Mel's mobile payment went through but the website then said it she had $0 credit.  More time on the phone, which was corrected before hanging up.  Dustin came over to spend the day with Merv.  I raced off to the car and just before I pulled out of the driveway, I realised my bag and mobile were still in the house.  Goodness!
All this running around was for a very good reason.  Today I took Mel to the Gold Class Cinema as a reward.  Her weight was yo-yoing last year in the 90kg range and we used an incentive list of rewards as an encouragement.  Mel was 91.9kg at the time and the first incentive was to lose 3kg.  Just getting under 90kgs was a milestone in itself but the week before Christmas she made it to 88.7kg, just a tad more than the designated 3kgs!  I was ecstatic.  There was no time to arrange Gold Class before Christmas but today we headed off with our Gold Class tickets and I made Mel her own Victory Certificate and took a photo of her outside Cinema 4 where we sat on luxurious reclining lounge chairs.  We nibbled on dips and chunky Ciabatta bread while I enjoyed my coffee and Mel her lemon, lime and bitters.  Mel choose the movie; Frozen.  It was a light hearted children's movie with a lesson of love entwined.  It was Mel's first time at Gold Class and my second.  I pointed out to Mel she only needs to lose five more kgs before she is half way to her total weight loss!  She has already lost 10kgs.  Well done Mel!


Dreams of A New Year

I awoke this morning to a world which seemed the same but I knew it was different. Everything looked the same but my digital clock clearly showed it is the first day of a brand new year.  It is a time to stop saying next year and rejoice it is now this year!  All the plans we have just been talking about suddenly take on a life of their own.   There are only twelve months to ensure each month is filled with activities and those plans come to fruition.
The weather is cool today, which is no suggestion of the summer heat ahead.  The day lends itself to daydreaming of a hopeful year ahead.