struggling with special needs children

[Matchy69]

Does anyone else have children with special needs.I am struggling with mine.My youngest cant use a toilet when their at the age they should be.I am getting tired of changing them,does that make me a bad parent?The constant hyperepisodes are taking their strain especially that i am going through other personal stuff in my life

[Hanna3]

Hi Mark, yes it stormed most of Christmas Day here - I felt a bit sorry for the holiday makers who had obviously planned on having a Christmas lunch outdoors by the beach - they had to huddle under the occasional picnic table but it looked a bit miserable!  It got quite cool with a strong wind too.

We have another severe storm rolling in now, I always worry about the hail and my car which has no garage.  

It has been so hot here it's been hard to do anything - everyone is saying hot hot an humid it is - I ducked into a shop looking for some plant pots and a new birdbath but they had nothing - I guess they were cleared out before Christmas.

Having a cuppa now and waiting for the storm to hit!  At least it might clear the air a bit.

[Matchy69]

Hi Hanna another storm forming here at the moment.i don't think I will get much out of this dosnt look as bad as the ones yesterday.

[Hanna3]

Hi Mark, I notice for some reason my replies aren't always getting through.  We have a heatwave here, its's about 35 degrees here - walking outside the heat is like hitting a wall.  I've topped up the birdbath for the poor birds and my pot plants are really suffering in this heat.

Spent the morning at a cafe out of town near the sea where they get a breeze and you can sit in the shade.  The library is open again today after the Christmas break so I might go down there later just to get in the air conditioning for a while!

Gee the storms and flooding on the Gold Coast looked bad on the news last night!  I hope you are OK there.

[Matchy69]

Hi Hanna the storms were really bad lucky no damage here.A friend down the coast sent me some photos of trees down everywhere and so much damage.They are staying with their mother at the moment to they can clean their place up.A warm day here with a brief shower before.I am planning on going on a long bike ride tomorrow hopefully the roads aren't to bad.

[Hanna3]

Hi Mark

We had baking hot weather yesteray and today doesn't look like we are getting any relief from the heat.  I do find it tricky when all the cafes are closed and the library, which is where I could go to get into aircon for a while.

I have tricky neighbours, a married couple who don't seem to know what to do with themselves, they sit outside my front door smoking all day - in the early evening I like to go out the back where I have a table and chairs to sit and read and get the breeze and there are nice trees and birds - yesterday I went out there for a quiet read and the neighbours were there too, still smoking - and they always want to talk.  I was really hot and tired and just wanted a quiet read.

I said a quick hi and then went on with my book - after a short time they went back inside their home. They are pleasant people but they don't go out anywhere and they're not old - they just sit.  I feel bad for being unsociable but at the same time, I just like some privacy and a bit  of quiet reading time!  

I am off to get a coffee somewhere i hope and take my book and have a read somewhere!

[Matchy69]

Hi Hanna neighbours can be strange when all they seem to do is smoke.I went for a long bike ride yesterday to where my great grandfather had his butchers shop and farm.Sadly the butchers shop is torn down now but I do have some photos of it when I I visited it ten years ago.My lower back is really sore today after the ride.Nothing really planned for the day.My daughter has gone down to to stay with her grandparents and my son is with his mother at the moment.

[Hanna3]

Hi Mark, wow no kids you can have a child-free day and relax and do whatever you want!  It's already so hot here I don't think I will be going out until late afternoon - today looks like a shocker for the heat.  No air conditioning here but I have two fans going already.

It must be interesting to look at the old photo you have of the shop and look at what is there now.  Back where I lived in the central west one of the streets had old photographs from last century along the pavement - I remember a couple were of the orginal butcher's shop with men standing outside wearing striped aprons.  There were also photos of the snow last century piled up high against the shop windows - you would never see that now.

I think I'll be stuck home watching movies today, if I open the front door the heat is like a wall!  Yikes.

[Matchy69]

Hi Hanna I have photos of my great grandfathers butcher shop going back to the early 1900s when it was newly built and one of my favourite photos is early 1930s with my great grandfather holding my dads hand when he is about 3 years old standing in front of the butchers shop and it has my grandads 1928 Pontiac car in the photo.I took one about 10 years ago with it or abandoned and in bad repair.And went back a few years ago to show my daughter it was torn down and I cried.My family history gone.My great grandfather also built a house next to it but it burnt down 6 months after he built it.I have a photo of the house as well.

[Matchy69]

Just found out I lost an old school mate today.A big shock and makes you think.

[mmMekitty]

Hello Mark, I came here to catch up on how things were for you this Xmas, & I'm so sorry for your loss. I don't know why, just that some deaths are more 'shocking' than others - It's okay to feel what you do.

If it helps, would you like to talk about what memories of them you will treasure?.

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Love the descriptions of the photos you have, of the shop & your rellies. I think having such things as photos & memorabilia do much to create a lasting bond with the past, the family ties, & help to provide a sense of belonging to place. I've wished I'd had those things, but I don't. I don't feel any connections like that - as if I was to know my great grand-mother's name, it would mean nothing to me, now. Her name could be any name just as easily as someone else's name. So, I think those photos are treasures of great personal value for you & your kids to share.

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Yeah, arfing hot yesterday & today. Now they say we can expect more storms, again. What happened to the El Niño?

Get lots of water into you, stay cool as possible, & don't go out into any storms...  

Hugzies

mmMekitty