Sometimes

Lately when I think of writing a blog I think of a dozen themes or ideas of what to write, then I can never decide, so then the blog never gets written! So here goes, I might blend a few blog topics into one. 

Not that we need reminding, but life really is so precious. We recently lost a good friend of ours, Ivan. A beautiful man, a wonderful friend, inspiring, vibrant and precious. Ivan is always with us - he helped build our house, and his humour, love and courage, is embedded in our walls. A rare kind of cancer, he died at 40 years of age, with two young kids. I am also 40 with two young children and thankfully I am alive and healthy. It has been a good reminder to be grateful.

Today we went for a walk next door. Leroy loves a walk in the sling. Our place borders on a Nature Reserve, Long Forest. It is divine.  It was so mild and perfectly sunny today, with a slight cooling wind and blue blue skies. It was just what we needed. We are so fortunate to live in our amazing home (we self built a straw bale house - more info on our other blog) next to Long Forest. It is so peaceful and we are surrounded by kangaroos, birds and tranquility. The perfect place to rest, heal and grow. 

When we are feeling down, low or just empty, going for a walk (or in Peter's case a jog) is the perfect remedy. Today I was watching the ants, butterflies and birds and was reminded of how big and wonderous our amazing earth is and how everything on it is just going about its business of living and surviving. It helps me get some perspective on what is going on in our family.

Leroy is doing great and we are falling more and more in love with him every day. I would be lying if I said we haven't been upset by the recent news that Leroy's optic nerve (ie eyesight) has also been injured along with his hearing. I can't imagine what his world must be like with very little hearing or sight, but we do know that Leroy is very sensitive to touch, and that's what we have been focussing on. 

Thanks to our very dear friend Sandy Leathem who is a Feldenkrais practitioner, we were put on to Louise Rothols, who is also a Feldenkrais practitioner, but who is specially trained to work with kids with special needs. Louise is fabulous, and we travel to Melbourne weekly for an hour session with Leroy. Leroy loves it and we are very fortunate to have Louise on our team. I will dedicate a whole blog to this therapy shortly, it really is fantastic. 

We also saw a fabulous dietitian this week, and he has put us on to some great supplements for Leroy and myself, as well as a guide to changes in my diet which will in turn help Leroy through my breast milk. We are surrounding ourselves with a team of wonderful people who share our optimism, open hearted thinking and commitment to Leroy. This, amongst other things, is what keeps us going.