Good Riddance to 2008!

Well, we made it! Can you believe it? A whole 12 days of Christmas without a single visit to a hospital our first since 2002! I have to admit, I was nervous for a while there, I didn't think we'd pull it off, but we did! Admittedly, by the hair of our chinny chin chins, but lets not quibble. Christmas week was spent on cough watch, this was a real hum dinger, so harsh, it involved vomiting and occasional expulsion of the NG tube (not pleasant!). I was a nervous wreck and pulled out my shock and awe weapons from my well stocked medical arsenal. I pelted it with steroids and nebulizers those bugs didn't stand a chance. Attila The Mum was on duty!Peace and harmony was restored by Dec 23rd, then the bugs re-grouped and launched a counter attack on Attila herself on the 26th! We're still slugging it out two weeks later.

But what a joy, coughing and spluttering not withstanding, we lounged in front of the telly, squabbled over the Quality Streets and moved the official time of wine o'clock to a seasonally early hour, sometimes even before dark! Oh the decadence! Santa impressed, Peppa Pig's house arrived to the delight of our youngest unbeliever, who has now has a Road to Damascus type conversion on the Santa front. He also dazzled Jess, who is now more sure than ever of his bona fides. It brought a tear to this old cynic's eye, I can tell you.

And so to a new year. I have to admit that I could not wait to usher 2008 out the door, like an unwanted guest or last week's fish it had left a very bad smell in my consciousness. After some reflection, I can trace the start of my exhaustion, confusion and heartache to the 15th of Jan last year. The date of the infamous "Oh you'd have to go to Australia to see her" conversation with a senior staff member of Enable Ireland. It went downhill from there. We haven't reached the bottom of that dip yet, I'm still not convinced that we will get any satisfaction without legal action. For obvious energy conservation reasons I am reluctant to take that route.

And that leads me on to this year's resolutions: Apart from the obvious, lose weight, get fit, see more of my friends, shout less at my kids, promote world peace and win the lotto, I'm trying to set realistic goals. This is purely for self preservation, as I couldn't stand the crush of not keeping them again this year. So here goes;

* Get a new bladder for boy wonder - surgery is scheduled for next summer

* Eat a meal with boy wonder - ( he told me his resolution was to learn to eat with his mouth)

* Try not to get as upset by the threats and general bullying from the HSE et al bearing in mind that they will never change, so to survive, I have to change the way I react to them. Please feel free to remind me of this if I start to whinge and rant!

*Do something for myself, maybe return to education.

Do, please, keep score and remind me of the ones which are in my power to achieve.
God grant me the power to make resolutions I can achieve,
The patience to say, hell, it's not worth it, to the ones I can't
And the wisdom to know the difference

A very happy new year to you all, and please stay with us for another while, we're still in need of your continued support. You have no idea how much it has sustained us through the war.

Cheers,
Ann