Longing for a Break

Since Christmas, our lives have been the usual non-stop hurtling from one urgent task to another. Sometimes I think I am just too old for all this excitement.{g}

The last Life-Songs concert was a great success and so very worth the time and effort we put into it. But no time to rest on our laurels, there is the next one to plan and the Youth Workshop for the end of the month to advertise and prepare for. God has also given me a couple of more ideas for Life-Songs events which I'll be mulling over and praying about from now on. I've been waking up at about 4.00am lately, which is giving me plenty of praying/mulling time. LOL!

Jamie has been working too, too hard. He has had several urgent deadlines at work and plenty of other claims on his time too. We will have to plan a break soon so we can both slip into a slower pace, even just for a couple of days.

Yesterday we had a review and consultation with Grace's Course Leader at college. And a careers' advisor was present. It seems her disability is not quite bad enough for her to get too much in the way of help from Adult Services, but so borderline that we won't know until she has her assessment from Social Services in a year's time. We were warned though that we should expect to be pretty much on our own with her. College were really pleased with her. She's hardworking and popular and has a good appreciation of her condition and is developing useful self-advocacy skills, but it seems there are few jobs available for someone like Grace and we came away feeling very disheartened. It was hard to come home to her and pass on all of college's praises for her, yet knowing what was said about her employment prospects, to feel so sad for her.

Because she's right on the borderline with regard to adult services, it means that although she is not capable of unsupported independent living, according the the neuro-psychologist (and our own common sense) she will probably not ever receive practical social worker asistance to help her. This means that she will need to live with us, or Jack, forever. And it's very difficult not to feel my heart breaking when I think about her future. Her life is going to be incredibly hard, through no fault of her own. And with no extended family support, when Jamie and I pass away. Most of the time, I manage to put those fears to the back of my mind, but yesterday was a stark reminder of how bleak her future prospects seem to be.

I woke to a wintry scene outside. For the second time in a week, we've had a very heavy snowfall. College has been cancelled and I'm not sure the roads will be clear enough for Jamie to get into work. We don't 'do' snow in this country! LOL!

For an hour or two more, before people start to muck it up, the world will be pristine and new-looking. I'm going to get a cup of tea and sit by the wondow watching the birds feeding from the fat block I put up in a tree in the back garden.