Monday – a day for organising

Another week begins and this time it is the school holidays and we are not going anywhere as H needs to go to the clinic each week. So there’s another wasted opportunity to destress with the family. Instead, we are staying here and H is having her friends over and my son is out and about with his buddies going to see a movie in the city or playing games online as usual. We will be out to see our family (30 mins away) over the Easter break so that is something to look forward to.

I have had to organise all the resources for homeschooling. I have had to get myself in check so I am not running around at the last minute gathering stuff. I have these two weeks away from work but I still have to study as I am behind a week. I am hoping that I can catch up and start my assignment. Now I am at the point in my degree that I just want to get these units done so I can be DONE! Anyway, I have a binder for homeschool so I will see how that keeps me on task with what I need to do, plus my teacher planning diary was empty so that is what I am using for H each week with what she needs to complete. There are always little things to do that take time but it is worth it to make sure everything is organised and accessible for the whole family.

It is a new week and time to get back into the flow of everything again without disturbances!

Tuesday – a study day (image above a collage I made at my work PD representing the Merri Creek)

Did not do much except doing some groceries and kitchen cupboard and food organisation. Plus, I had to catch up on my studies as I knew Wednesday was going to be a right off with going to the hospital.

Wednesday – Burns clinic at 11:50am

This week we got to meet Associate Professor Warwick Teague whose name was written on all of H’s hospital paperwork. That was the highlight of the day as I shared with him that I read the info on his research at the RCH. H was seen by her surgeon fellow, her OT, physio and a nurse who helped with the dressings on her legs. So according to the staff there she is doing very well but she is at a critical stage of her healing where the focus is on stretching the skin on her face and using the pressure garments 23 hours a day to prevent the scars from getting thicker. The other good thing is that we don’t have to go back to the clinic for another 3 weeks! We still have to go to the hospital weekly for physio exercises though by request of her surgeon, so yeah we will still be making weekly visits!!!!

H also had an orthotics appointment with Meleta, who organised her 3D printed face mask. H prefers that one over the balaclava but she still has to wear the balaclava to flatten the scars on her neck. Meleta was pretty happy with how it turned out and I gave her feedback to secure the straps by sewing them in place in future. Unfortunately, the research for the masks is not too good as the comparison with the other mask made with plaster was too ill-fitting so they could not do a proper analysis of both masks. Then we were out of there as soon as we could, these appointments really do zap energy from you!

Thursday – family movie night at the drive-in 6:45 pm – Sonic the hedgehog 2 (not my choice!)

Having spent the morning exercising and going to collect hot cross buns from the cat shelters fundraiser I made it to my myotherapist to sort out the pain in my lower back. In the arvo, I came home and checked in on H and she was cleaning out her room. I was so impressed that she had the energy to get up and about and decorate her room beautifully, our H girl is coming back to us. This was the anniversary of 3 months after the accident! She also said that after speaking to her counsellor she was going to make a stop motion film with her stuffed animals, I was so thrilled! It makes my heart sing to see H interact with us again in positive ways, she is now seeing the benefits of home school and now wants to do a research project as well. This is all on her own (well she has been chatting to her friend about it) but I am so happy to hear that she is keen to learn and can see the value of self-directed learning and not having to learn via the traditional system of school periods of 45 mins to an hour – boo!! As a teacher, this makes me so happy as I am a keen supporter of progressive education.

Friday – Study day

Good Friday and what a good Friday it was! My daughter is back with us and she was talking to me today about what she is planning to do for school and that we need to get a weekly planner. I was up early did my meditation and exercise and got to studying. I have to write an essay so I had to do all my readings and notes so I can start writing about “Why is there confusion in early childhood leadership?” I created my essay plan so I can stay on topic when I am reading but when I am researching that is when I fall through too many rabbit holes. So I stuck my essay plan on the wall to keep me on the right path.

Saturday, Sunday and Monday – writing an essay

Finally, I had the brain space to focus on writing a draft for my assignment due the first week of May. H was having a birthday sleepover with her friend and had a great time out in a new environment. All in all, we did not have a trip away over easter, we caught up on stuff and relaxed.