Lockdown ramblings Part Seven – Relationships count
- Lockdown Ramblings Part Eight – Juggling in a pandemic - May 27, 2020
- Lockdown ramblings Part Seven – Relationships count - May 20, 2020
- Lockdown ramblings Part Six – It’s all about me! - May 13, 2020
There’s so much written about relationships as they are so important. We are born through relationship, every day of our lives is touched by relationships and our death is made harder through the thought of separation from those we love. The reason for this blog is that relationships have become such a focus of healing […]
Lockdown Ramblings Part Four – The good things for our children in lockdown
- Lockdown Ramblings Part Eight – Juggling in a pandemic - May 27, 2020
- Lockdown ramblings Part Seven – Relationships count - May 20, 2020
- Lockdown ramblings Part Six – It’s all about me! - May 13, 2020
There are many frustrating and challenging aspects of this current lockdown due to Covid-19 across the world. Every day we’re confronted with them either in our own homes or watching other peoples’ that we see online. I don’t want to diminish those challenges or somehow say they are not important – because they are. However, […]
The Forever Loss of Infertility
- Lockdown Ramblings Part Eight – Juggling in a pandemic - May 27, 2020
- Lockdown ramblings Part Seven – Relationships count - May 20, 2020
- Lockdown ramblings Part Six – It’s all about me! - May 13, 2020
I don’t talk much about our personal journey with infertility. I do talk about our beautiful children who we adopted and the journey since. So, today I thought I might delve into the dark shadow of loss that can sometimes creep up on me. My husband and I had been married about 2-3 years when […]
Outside the Lines
- Lockdown Ramblings Part Eight – Juggling in a pandemic - May 27, 2020
- Lockdown ramblings Part Seven – Relationships count - May 20, 2020
- Lockdown ramblings Part Six – It’s all about me! - May 13, 2020
I was privileged recently to take part in the first episode of a new podcast that I’d like to introduce to you. The idea behind ‘Outside the Lines’ podcast is a place where people who are raising children they didn’t give birth to can get some support and community. Here’s the link to this episode […]
5 things I wish my teachers knew
- Lockdown Ramblings Part Eight – Juggling in a pandemic - May 27, 2020
- Lockdown ramblings Part Seven – Relationships count - May 20, 2020
- Lockdown ramblings Part Six – It’s all about me! - May 13, 2020
My adopted daughter is now 18 and in her second year of college. Today we were discussing her experiences in school since starting in Primary and we came up with the 5 things she’d like teachers to know – whether in Primary, Secondary or College. These are her words…. People are important. I had a […]
School Refusers
- Lockdown Ramblings Part Eight – Juggling in a pandemic - May 27, 2020
- Lockdown ramblings Part Seven – Relationships count - May 20, 2020
- Lockdown ramblings Part Six – It’s all about me! - May 13, 2020
One of the most challenging and frustrating areas for both parents/carers and educators to navigate is the school refuser. This is something we talk about often in our support group with other adopters as it is a constant daily challenge to get our children into school or college. This doesn’t seem to get easier for […]
Post 16 support
- Lockdown Ramblings Part Eight – Juggling in a pandemic - May 27, 2020
- Lockdown ramblings Part Seven – Relationships count - May 20, 2020
- Lockdown ramblings Part Six – It’s all about me! - May 13, 2020
I’m just sitting in the foyer of a hotel in Liverpool waiting to deliver my seminar to 60 further education professionals. Post 16 is a challenge for lots of young people but even more so for vulnerable young people who are struggling in so many areas of their lives. Two of our children are in […]
Instant Family
- Lockdown Ramblings Part Eight – Juggling in a pandemic - May 27, 2020
- Lockdown ramblings Part Seven – Relationships count - May 20, 2020
- Lockdown ramblings Part Six – It’s all about me! - May 13, 2020
I went to watch a film at the cinema last week. This was a film I’d been looking forward to seeing for months. The trailer was really funny, seemed realistic and I have even shared it at an adoption and fostering event, as well as recommending to all my friends. The film I’m talking about […]
The signs of success?
- Lockdown Ramblings Part Eight – Juggling in a pandemic - May 27, 2020
- Lockdown ramblings Part Seven – Relationships count - May 20, 2020
- Lockdown ramblings Part Six – It’s all about me! - May 13, 2020
It’s very hard to measure the ‘success’ of vulnerable young people as they grow. In schools we assess ad nauseum and maybe that can give us some indication of how much progress has been made in a child’s learning. Does it tell us more than whether they have good memories though? Does it tell us […]
The pain you can’t see
- Lockdown Ramblings Part Eight – Juggling in a pandemic - May 27, 2020
- Lockdown ramblings Part Seven – Relationships count - May 20, 2020
- Lockdown ramblings Part Six – It’s all about me! - May 13, 2020
I’ve experienced back pain on and off for the last 20 years. Sometimes it’s unbearable, most the time I’m conscious of it and occasionally I forget that I am prone to back pain. This last week it has been very painful and even though it’s not that obvious to look at me, when you see […]
Think outside the box
- Lockdown Ramblings Part Eight – Juggling in a pandemic - May 27, 2020
- Lockdown ramblings Part Seven – Relationships count - May 20, 2020
- Lockdown ramblings Part Six – It’s all about me! - May 13, 2020
Poor mental health, high anxiety levels and generally living life at a stressful speed is taking its toll. On my travels around schools and with other adoptive parents I’m noticing the need for more creative ways to manage our own mental health, as adults, as well as the children and young people we care for. […]
When does control move to influence?
- Lockdown Ramblings Part Eight – Juggling in a pandemic - May 27, 2020
- Lockdown ramblings Part Seven – Relationships count - May 20, 2020
- Lockdown ramblings Part Six – It’s all about me! - May 13, 2020
I’ve just come back from a two day parenting teens course with lots of great, inspiring and challenging thoughts in my mind. One is around control and influence. When my children were younger we (the adults) felt in control of their behaviour and to some extent their feelings too. Maybe we never were actually in […]
The importance of sleep
- Lockdown Ramblings Part Eight – Juggling in a pandemic - May 27, 2020
- Lockdown ramblings Part Seven – Relationships count - May 20, 2020
- Lockdown ramblings Part Six – It’s all about me! - May 13, 2020
Some of you may be heading back to school after the half-term, others (like myself) are still enjoying the lazy get up times of holidays. Of course, with my teenagers it’s hard to get them out of bed now at the best of times, but this week especially has been difficult as they relish in […]
The Power of Connection
- Lockdown Ramblings Part Eight – Juggling in a pandemic - May 27, 2020
- Lockdown ramblings Part Seven – Relationships count - May 20, 2020
- Lockdown ramblings Part Six – It’s all about me! - May 13, 2020
We all want to be seen and to know that we matter. I’ve shown this video many times in our training as it is such a good explanation of empathy and what it actually means. It’s not about passing judgement on others or even being able to identify because we’ve gone through the same thing. […]
What are we actually in control of?
- Lockdown Ramblings Part Eight – Juggling in a pandemic - May 27, 2020
- Lockdown ramblings Part Seven – Relationships count - May 20, 2020
- Lockdown ramblings Part Six – It’s all about me! - May 13, 2020
My three children are not children any more – they are teenagers! Yes, the word that strikes fear in every parent. I have to say though, all in all, the teenage years have been ok and I know I’ve said this before that I actually have enjoyed the relationships I’ve been able to have with […]
Tell me how I feel
- Lockdown Ramblings Part Eight – Juggling in a pandemic - May 27, 2020
- Lockdown ramblings Part Seven – Relationships count - May 20, 2020
- Lockdown ramblings Part Six – It’s all about me! - May 13, 2020
For most young children they are spoken to all the time. We might not be aware of it but even with tiny babies we are nattering away labelling feelings, emotions, things for them. “It’s so cold today, we must wrap you up nice and warm”, “you sound really hungry, let’s feed you then you’ll feel […]
Are you REALLY listening to me?
- Lockdown Ramblings Part Eight – Juggling in a pandemic - May 27, 2020
- Lockdown ramblings Part Seven – Relationships count - May 20, 2020
- Lockdown ramblings Part Six – It’s all about me! - May 13, 2020
I used to think I was quite a good listener. That was until I started a coaching course many years ago now and had to admit that actually I don’t really listen all that well sometimes. I’m not the kind of person who looks over peoples’ shoulders while they speak looking for a better option, […]
What’s so scary about being sad?
- Lockdown Ramblings Part Eight – Juggling in a pandemic - May 27, 2020
- Lockdown ramblings Part Seven – Relationships count - May 20, 2020
- Lockdown ramblings Part Six – It’s all about me! - May 13, 2020
This may be a subject I’ve spoken on before as it makes a regular appearance in my life – BC and AC (before children and after children). Why do we find it sooo hard to be with powerful, dark and scary emotions in others, and sometimes in ourselves too? As I’ve been talking more in […]