new neighbours

They're new neighbours but they have been in the neighbourhood for a while and anyway, it feels like we have known them forever.

There is an ease in the ebb and flow of life living next door to this beautiful little family of three.

The side gate is open and a precious two year old tinkerbell tiptoes in to our backyard now and again to steal a jump on the trampoline or five minutes playing trains with our boys.

A big black dog has been well and truly adopted and hours are spent patting.

The spoils of cooking and produce are shared and containers of deliciousness are passed across the fence and back again.

The difficult hours of dinner, bath and bedtime are easier when you can call out to someone else facing the same trials next door.

Having new neighbours, might seem like a relatively small thing in the grand scheme.
Small or not, it feels like I have won the lottery.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Dear Friends

Dear Beautiful Friends,

Thank you for opening your home to us on Melbourne Cup Day.

Thank you for the beautiful food and the opportunity to contribute to an amazing feast for all of us.

Thank you for your generous and gracious hospitality which extended through not one but two meals. Seven whole hours of a house full of people.

Thank you for loaning the Bowler some trains to play with and sustain him on the journey home. His day ended peacefully and perfectly.

Thank you for always creating a space that welcomes the Batsman and encourages him to be himself. He had the time of his life.

Thank you for being the friends you are to all of us. We are beyond lucky to have you in our lives. It makes us so happy to watch our boys play together.


Love,

Us
xoxo

R U OK?

I am running a little bit behind schedule this week.
So at 10pm, with a couple of hours left of R U OK? day to go, here I am. Late to what would appear to have been a successful campaign. I saw yellow everywhere on my social media streams today, and that has to be a good thing.

I asked a couple of people today. And yes, I am clear that they are both ok.
A couple of my lovely friends asked me whether I am ok too.
It felt good to be asked and it felt even better to be able to answer with a clear yes.
In the last year, my answer would not always have been yes. As I have struggled with the Batsman's diagnosis and a house full of therapists nearly every day, there have been highs and some devastating lows.
I feel like I am standing a little more in the sunshine this past couple of months. I can feel it on my cheeks.

I am ok. Really. I am ok.

Grateful for bloggy friends

Autism kicked my butt today. Anxiety and meltdowns were the order of the day for precious eldest. It was a tough afternoon with little rhyme or reason.

So often now, my online life is the place I go to for solace and comfort. I went there tonight. I blogged and I tweeted. Those bloggy friends, those connections forged through great gals being willing to read what I share and to share with me, they came in numbers to comfort, encourage, make me smile, share and empathise. Lucky me.

There are great supportive people in my real life too, it's just not as easy to connect, to share what's going on, to ask for help. Our online presence has certainly changed the way we do connection don't you think?

So this week's grateful shout out goes to those beautiful bloggy friends who cheer me on so consistently.

You know who you are.

Know that I am grateful.

PS: Thank you to all of you who read here. I love it that you are willing to read what I write. In case you didn't know, I write a blog exclusively about the Batsman's autism journey over here at The I Love You Song. I'd love you to follow me there too if you are so inclined.

PPS: Thanks Maxabella for the Grateful link up.

Weekend grateful - a friend

I have missed a couple of weeks of Weekend Grateful.

Life got in the way of being grateful. Oops.

But this week I am back. Being in the presence of gratitude for what we have in our lives is a lovely thing. Thanks Maxabella.

This week I am grateful for my friend T. I am so very fortunate to have her in my life.

She is the voice of reason. The one who, when I am full of angst about something, says “Yeah, except I’m going to be the voice who says.....” and all of this wisdom comes out. She gives, both the wisdom, and the friendship, without expectation or judgement. She has stuck with me but not crowded me. She loves my boys and watches them grow with the pride of the proudest aunty. She writes postcards and letters to the Batsman with pictures of trains and penguins, whatever she knows is his latest craze. The joy on his face as he fetches T’s latest offering from the letterbox is pure gold.

My friendship with T is one of those ones where even if we don’t speak for a while, there is no gap in the communication. We talk about everything and anything. We tolerate each other’s football team choices.

I saw T yesterday. We had coffee and a chat. I told her about my never ending to-do list and how when I get some time to complete some tasks without the boys with me that I am often struck by the paralysis of what to do first. Quick Suz, make the most of the time. Productive. And then came the wisdom.

T said, “how about instead of thinking about what you’re going to do, you think about what you’re going to be?”

A to-be list instead of a to-do list. More gold. Thanks T.

PS: I’m also grateful for this post. You made a huge difference yesterday Bianca. If you haven’t read the post, read it and follow Bianca. She has good stuff to say.

Another PS: I’m grateful to have lost 4.9kg and crashed through a weight barrier I haven’t been under for way too long. This woman is my inspiration. Thanks Lucy. You should read her blog too. In a “to-be” kind of way of course.

Image via weheartit

Weekend grateful - flotation devices

Image gratitude

My last post wasn't a happy one. I am not in the greatest of places. But I know in my heart it will all get better in time. In the meantime I am grateful for everyone who has been helping to keep me afloat. The comment love was wonderful to receive and has buoyed me through the last day or so. Today has been a more peaceful day, in my heart and head, and that is in no small part due to the "floaties" everyone gave me here.

Thank you. I am ever so grateful.

New friend

Easy conversation without pause
Much in common
Points of difference
Laughter
Two 15 month old babes make friends too
And while they bond over some squashed banana cake
Their mums become friends