A quick catch up

I had forgotten how long ago I started this blog - I think I thought it was sometime last autumn but having looked back I see it was in May and so many things which I blogged about back then have moved on.  My daughter was taking her A Levels, hoping to secure a place at university and she has now just about finished her first year at university.  My son headed into Year 11 and GCSEs and has now finished them and has left school.  The anniversary of my great-nephew's death has been and gone and today is the anniversary of his funeral.  The pain doesn't get any easier for his parents and siblings but life goes on and they have to do so too.  Back in August my daughter went off at short notice to help out at camp and she loved it so much that she is planning on heading there again this year.  She was sharing a tent with another girl who it turned out was already at Lancaster University which was a great blessing to her as it meant that when she arrived at university she already knew someone.  Next year they are even sharing a house! 

Work and Exams

Gosh - so long since I posted.  In my last post I mentioned that I had got a job but that it was having detrimental effects on my knees and feet.  Sadly those detrimental effects got much worse and eventually I had to heed medical advice to give it up.  My right knee was becoming so painful and swollen that it was almost impossible to stand on it at all.  I had a course of Ostenil injections which gave me one week of blessed relief - or could that have been down to the fact that I was off work for a week.  They should have given me a lot more weeks of relief but unfortunately the damage is too severe and I am now awaiting a knee replacement operation.
In addition to that the standing on my feet meant that my arches dropped and I now have flat feet, which means that my feet have spread and I now need shoes a size larger - not good news when you already take a size 8.


Nothing much has changed in our lives, work is still an issue.  I am struggling to find something I can do which isn't affected by my knee and my husband is still on temporary contracts, although the current one is for 6 months.  He is working in London (but not the job he went for in all that snow - they didn't even get back to him - so rude!)  and only gets home every other weekend and sometimes not even that. We don't want to complain though - it is work after all.   


Over the last few weeks we have been suffering examination fever - my son has been doing his GCSEs and my daughter had her last 1st year examination at university this morning.  Thank goodness they can both relax now.  My son - my baby - has now left school - where did the time go?   Now we have the long wait to August for his results.  Fortunately Beth will get her results within a couple of weeks.  In the meantime Christopher has his prom in a couple of weeks, his tux is hired and shoes bought, now all we have to do is get his hair cut - major event!  He looks so wonderful in his tux - it does a mother's heart good to see him.