After remaining in bed for the rest of Thursday and refraining from eating or drinking I woke on Friday feeling much better. I was still a little concerned as to how I would be for the day but as best as you can you have to crack on. It is so easy to let the fear of things going wrong stop you from leaving the house but you have to accept that you can not be a prisoner in your own home. As it was, we had no intention or plans to stray too far from the bungalow, and as it turned out we had no requirement to go anywhere and therefore spent the day playing with the kids toys with them.
The day was full of toys and games and preparing for Maralyn and her partner Paul who were coming round for drinks in the evening. The kids even helped us to clean and tidy the bungalow. They ensured that their toys were taken to their rooms, not for them to pack away, but to simply remove them from the front room so that they would not be accidentally trodden on and potentially broken, or worse, somebody falling. With the bungalow tidied and some bits and bobs of `nibbles` cooked and prepared for us all to snack at, we watched some television and awaited the arrival of our guests.
`Pickle` was very vocal when they arrived ensuring that we all knew that Maralyn was in the building! She always helps Maralyn when I have my acupuncture by putting all of the plastic needle covers and packaging into the rubbish bin and so is very friendly where Maralyn is concerned. They sat and we talked and had some drinks, Maralyn was designated driver and so therefore was coffee only but myself and Paul had `a few`. I figured it would be ok as I had not had any trouble during the day and as long as I wasn’t stupid, then I was reasonably confident it should not become a problem. After a good few hours of chatting, drinking and some really good laughs it was unfortunately time for them to head home. It was such a pleasant evening with what has developed in to a friendship with two really good and fun people. With Maralyn and Paul on their way home after `Pickle` finally let Maralyn go, we cleared away the left over food and empty cups and glasses and headed off to bed. The end to a great day.
This morning I had a bit of a lay in, in so much as my Wife did not wake me until around ten, to be fair though I think we all lay in for a while. Yesterday my Wife’s Uncle, Auntie and Cousin came down from London to visit. They are here for the weekend and today they went for a walk around Bridport to look in the shops, they enjoy Bridport and it is regular haunt when they visit. They collected my Daughter who was going to spend the day with them where she would also look round Bridport and then they would be traveling the short distance to West Bay for some lunch. We had said that if the weather was not too bad we would aim to either meet them at Bridport or failing that, at West Bay. When we were all dressed we looked at the weather outside and decided that a visit to Bridport was not going to happen. For me to get in to shops at the best of times is difficult and if I was not able to get in to the shops in Bridport I would have to wait outside in unfavourable weather. To that end, and as everyone would be descending on our bungalow, which makes sense not only because it offers the most room but of course is wheelchair friendly for me, we decided to wait for them to come to us where we would all be having chips for tea.
I spent the afternoon with my Son assisting him with building some of his Lego models he had received for Christmas and also building some of the more difficult ones. He really got the hang of following the diagrams, some of which required looking at a few times, but with help on some of the more difficult drawings he did really well and it was clear that he had a real sense of self achievement when each model had been completed. We would still be building more of them now if I hadn’t told him that we would save some for tomorrow bless him. We did have to pop out to the supermarket this afternoon just to pick up `a few things`, by God, when did shopping get so bloody expensive. Ok, I admit I did get wrapped around `Pickle’s` little finger when she picked up a Peppa Pig toy, which was not expensive but was also not required or on the list. The Southern comfort was not on the list, or really required but the last bottle was enjoyed by me and as it is a rare thing for me to drink, and Christmas is the only time I drink Southern Comfort at home I did spoil myself. So on reflection, the shopping wasn’t actually that expensive to be fair, note to self…say No to `Pickle` when she picks up a toy and asks for it and expect the shopping bill to be a little higher if I want to by spirits!
Everyone arrived at the bungalow and drinks were sorted, from tea and coffee to lager and whiskey and of course juice for the kids, we then all sat with our drinks and were given our food. After food had been finished and cleared away more presents were handed out and opened, these had been kept back until the family members from London had come down. It is less personal if they are opened when they are not here on Christmas day and so general rule is that they are saved until they visit very shortly after. The evening continued with the kids playing with their new toys and the adults talking, I also spent time in my standing frame which was good. It was good and also interesting for the family members to see and of course generated more questions. I think that it was more easily accepted by them when I had the spasms which were actually quite bad again today causing me to randomly and uncontrollably groan. It is not something I can control when the spasm is bad and catches me by surprise but I am not concerned if people are shocked by it, upset by it or even find it amusing as it is me that has to deal and live with the discomfort they bring. If it opens the eyes of people when it happens then it can only be a good thing that they see what my Wife and I deal with daily.
Our visiting family said their goodbyes for the evening and my Daughter went with them as she would be staying for the night at my Mother in Law’s. I am not sure what time the family will be heading back to London or indeed what our plans will be tomorrow but I know that the weather will be a deciding factor as far as I am concerned. I never worried about being out in the rain when I was able bodied but as I may have mentioned before, when you are sat down the rain does not simply run down your coat and off on to the floor, oh no, it runs down your coat and pools in your crutch which is not pleasant. This can really only be understood by a fellow wheelchair user but take it from me, it is not nice and very uncomfortable. What ever you have been doing today and do tomorrow, I hope that you have enjoyed and will enjoy your days. My family are in bed and have been for a few hours now and it is where i too am now heading off to.
Goodnight all.