Vivod: An update...

Wow...it's been the longest blog break ever. I actually didn't think I would write another post but having read back through the last few posts I feel the need for an update. I forgot how good this thing was at 'off-loading' my thoughts whilst recording a bit of personal history to reflect on in the future. To be honest there are no drastic changes to report, for which I'm grateful for (there is a lot to be said for life just plodding along nicely). Vivod has made some but little progress (life gets in the way). I still work hard, I still run (although I'm not sure I discussed this with you before?!), and I still do Tae Kwon Do. There are no new additions to Vivod and, thankfully, no losses either. Let's go into a little more detail then.

So, when I last blogged, child #1 had flown the nest and moved to bonnie Scotland. I think I, and many others, gave it a few weeks. Well actually, I gave it a bit longer than most simply because she is very like me and I knew she wanted her freedom more than anything. I think the fateful call came around the end of November. I was just about to leave for Saturday run club, at 7:30am. I was confused and ready to voice my annoyance at the 'unknown caller', clearly a sales call (at this time????!!!) calling me. That is until I answered and heard the sobs on the other end of the phone, following by 'Mum...mum...I want to come home'. This isn't easy to deal with when you are a few hundred miles away. So I sat down and talked to her until she was ok. Then assessed if she actually did want to come home or not. She was unsure. So...I did what all good parents would do...I left her to it, told her I would call her in just over an hour, and I went out running. I know that sounds heartless but it wasn't, she was fine with that, but there was little else I could do. To cut a long story short, 90 minutes later, Child #3 and I, armed with downloaded Iplayer content and a bunch of bananas, set off for Wishaw to collect her and all her belongings. She came home, went to college for a week, then got a job in McDonalds. Maybe it wasn't the best job in the world and appropriate for my A grade GCSE girl but it was a start and it did her good to learn what work was like. So where is she now? Well back in Scotland obviously! She went back about a month ago. I'm not going to lie and say that I am happy about it. I'm not, I think she is making a mistake because (and I know that she knows this if she is reading this, and so does he) her boyfriend does not deserve a second chance after the way he treated her so he should consider himself damn lucky! Having said that I completely understand why she went back and if she thinks it will make her happy then that's what she has to do. (Blogging is such good counselling...I've missed it!)

What else? Well I work in public sector, so following significant funding cuts from the government its been a pretty scary time recently due to potential redundancy for all staff. I'm pleased to say that what I do is quite specialised and very fundamental to the organisation therefore I was ok. Work has, as usual, been very challenging though, for many reasons, but that's why I enjoy it though.

Child #2 update. Ok, so lots has gone on here but I'm not going to dwell on the bad stuff. It's been hard, almost to the point that I couldn't take any more. However (and I have no way of knowing if this will continue but I have learnt the art of appreciating things as they happen and not taking too much for granted in the future) over the past 3 weeks Child #3 has outdone herself. She has been a delight. She has been great at school, responsible etc. I've not spoken to her teachers, Head of Year or Head Teacher once (yes, I know this is normal for most parents but for Child #2 this is a massive achievement). I'm now accepting of the underlying issues that I was once in denial about and seeking the right support. I should have done this a long time ago but for many reasons I didn't.

Child #3...he's a typical 9 year old with 2 older sisters (= 3 mums!) He's great though, very clever, very funny and very loving. What more can I ask?

So aside from all the above I've filled the gaps mainly with running, Tae Kwon Do and wool related stuff. I've finished a couple of blankets, run a 10 mile and 10k race, become a green belt and encouraged about 20 people to run a half marathon in May for charity.

Oh, and we still have Louis...