Celebrations...

Mr A turned 21 earlier this year.

This is one of many milestones he has reached recently.

Along with moving into his own home, setting up a ten pin bowling team, socialising regularly with friends, starting his own small business and owning a pet, it's one he's justifiably proud of.

It seems the norm these days for 21 year olds to still be living at home with Mum and Dad. Therefore Mr A is something of an anomaly in some circles. Add in his level of disability, and he is perhaps, somewhat unique.

The practical steps we needed to take to reach this outcome, are documented elsewhere in this blog.

The emotional ones are many and varied.

We never for a moment accepted that just because Mr A had a disability, that he would not just do what everyone else his age does...within reason. Riding a motorcycle is not a realistic goal, nor is becoming a brain surgeon, ballet dancer, or ball player. Although of those three, it was probably only ball player that was of any real interest...lol!

But attending a mainstream school, gaining a tertiary qualification, having a wide circle of friends, and moving into a home of his own, were all achieveable. And have been achieved.

So, what's next?

Number One, top of the list....a girlfriend.

Hmmm....online dating looks a possibility. With shaking hands and tremulous heart, we embark on the next mission. Surely it'll be easy compared to what we've done so far?

The Dr Seuss style cake depicted here is representative of our approach always. It doesn't have to be perfect. It just has to be right. For each of us there is a Miss or Mr Right out there. Surely for Mr A, it's no different.

Wish us luck!

Practical pinning?

I pinned this recently. If you're not pinning, then you're missing out on a great way of saving ideas in one central place. If you are, then you'll know that you'll probably never, in two lifetimes, have enough hours in the day to enact everything you've pinned. That's certainly the case with my Boards.

When I'm old and grey and living alone (assuming I outlive my spouse and not the other way around...lol!), this will be my living quarters.

Soft, white, feminine, and just enough space for me.

I'm not sure how I'll get up to my loft bedroom, but I've seen those staircase lifts and think I'll install one of those.

I'm a bit worried about the chandelier hanging directly over my belly button, and I don't like the consequences of swinging my legs out of bed one morning and feeling for the floor that isn't there, and I'll probably trip over the chair cover or tablecloth and break my silly elderly neck...but then who said this was a practical option.

Isn't it funny?

I love the look of this, but when you get right down to it, it's surely not a space in which anyone actually lives.

Do you ever pin something onto Pinterest, or save something you've seen without really looking at it properly? I think a lot of my Pins are probably totally impractical.

One of the recent craft ideas I tried, was melting cheapo plastic beads in a pie dish, leaving a little hole through which to thread some ribbon.

Well it worked, but the ensuing fumes just about choked us all and made the whole family a bit nauseous. The beads also stuck to my good pie dish, and I've wrecked the thing trying to get my bead 'suncatcher' out of it's mold. I posted a warning on that one.

A lot of the Pins on Pinterst catch my eye because they're a certain colour, style or font. When I actually look at their content, they're not really for me after all.

Ahhh...the limitations of Pinning. Are your Pins practical?

1 thing, 1000 times or The Neverending Staircase

Did your Mother ever say to you 'If I've told you once, I've told you a thousand times....'? Did you ever wonder what it meant? In Mums' case, it was an expression of frustration. But let me say, you don't know frustration until you have a child with a disability.

This illustration is probably an appropriate visual. A neverending staircase, going round and round in circles, leaving you feeling like you're going nowhere.

When you have a child with a disaability, you learn that everyone's first answer is 'no'. And it doesn't matter what the question is.

Some questions we've asked that have been met with a no are:

"Can he play a sport?"

"Can he join in with the other kids?"

"Can he join your acting class/bowling league/football club?"

"Can we have a different sort of wheelchair?"

"Is there somewhere for our son to socialise with members of the opposite sex?"

It's all no-no-no.

What we've learned over 21 years and some few months, is that sometimes it's a case of doing one thing a thousand times to get the result we need. Whether it's making one phone call a thousand times to the same person, or the same phone call to a thousand different people, it seems to take that to make things happen.

After what seems like a thousand thousand phone calls, letters, emails and conversations, our son finally achieved some funding to live independently.

After nearly a thousand more, he is now setting up a bowling team of his own.

And I guess it'll take another thousand to help him find a life partner..his next dream.

As the Chinese proverb says... The journey of a lifetime begins with but a single step.

Many, many steps, a thousand thousand things done a thousand thousand thousand times.

It's all worth it in the end.

Look how far we've come already.

Hanging out on a gloomy day 11 June 2012

Hanging out on a gloomy day 11 June 2012 by mimi-briji featuring a biker jacket

Joules sleeveless tank
$22 - johnlewis.com

Dorothy Perkins biker jacket
$54 - dorothyperkins.com

Slim fit cargo pants
barneys.com

Star shoes
jildorshoes.com

Hot pink handbag
shoplatitude.com

Glass ring
mysilpada.com

Cezanne tahitian pearl earrings
dillards.com

Pieces knitted shawl
$25 - welikefashion.com

I'm home today as my daughter is back at school following a two week school holiday, so I'm catching up on all of my recipe writing and photographing. I'll be doing a spot of baking as well, so comfort is the order of the day.

I'm not fond of these cargo pants (or any cargo pants for that matter), but I see them in a new light as 'work wear'. I have the fireplace going so the house is toasty warm and I don't need my jacket indoors of course. But with a raspberry scarf and my jacket donned, I'll be warm enough in the car to collect my daughter from school this afternoon :)

And of course I have my frilly Parisian style umbrella gifted to me for Christmas, for braving the gloomy weather!