Friday Focus 16/01/2026 – Encouraging

After last week’s difficult week, this week has been more encouraging. I’ve been able to share some of the mental load with my worries and we’ve had some conversations about various concerns, which has been difficult but ultimately helpful. It’s been good to get things out in the open and have a better idea of what the next steps need to be and what support might be available to help move forward.

 

The word 'encouraging' in orange bubble writing

 

Sophie had an encouraging start to her latest dance festival, placing first in her tap solo with an amazing 91 marks. Thomas had to come along and watch as my husband was working on an event. It was a longer day than last time he came to a dance festival, but he coped amazingly well and managed to sit and watch a couple of sections that Sophie wasn’t dancing in (but her friend was) as well as Sophie’s sections.

 

Sophie in her tap costume holding a gold medal

 

We had Thomas’s annual review this week for his EHCP. It’s been encouraging to see what progress he has made over the last year. Some of the things that were big challenges for him last year have become much easier for him to manage. His current school seem to be supporting him really well and he’s been so much happier at school since he’s been there. I’m not seeing quite so much of a coke-bottle reaction when he comes home which is also encouraging because it suggests that he genuinely is coping better at school rather than being better at masking.

 

Thomas doing a star jump pose at the dance festival

 

I’ve had a nice productive week and felt more on top of things which has also helped make the mental load feel easier to manage, as has getting a bit more sleep!

 

 

What I’ve been grateful for this week:

 

Thomas's marshmallow robot; Thomas's school shoes; Thomas at the dance festival; a game of Uzzle; slow cooked gammon in front of a slow cooker; Sophie with a ballet bun; Thomas wearing an oodie snuggling under a fluffy blanket - "#365daysofgratitude 2025 - Week 2" 

  

  • Day 9 – I am grateful that Thomas enjoyed being back at Boys’ Brigade this evening and had fun making a marshmallow robot.

 

  • Day 10 – I am grateful for taking Sophie and Thomas for a shoe fitting and them both still being the same size as last time so no new shoes needed!

 

  • Day 11 – I am grateful that Thomas coped fairly well with spending the day at Sophie’s dance festival.

 

  • Day 12 – I am grateful for time to play games together before bedtime.

 

  • Day 13 – I am grateful for my slow cooker.

 

  • Day 14 – I am grateful for a message from Sophie’s form tutor telling me that she’s doing great and is a joy to have in class.

 

  • Day 15 – I am grateful for oodies and blankets.

 

 

Other things that have made me smile this week:

  • Thomas burning off some energy after school at the playground.

 

Thomas bouncing on a trampoline at the park

 

  • Thomas telling me he had “700 Shreddies” for breakfast at breakfast club.

 

  • Pretty flowers in Jessica’s vase.

 

Roses and daffodils in Jessica's memory vase

 

 

Joining in with Raisie Bay for Word of the Week.

 

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4 thoughts on “Friday Focus 16/01/2026 – Encouraging

  1. It’s good to hear that you have had a much better week. The mental load can really take its toll, so I’m glad that you had the chance to talk and share the load.
    Well done to Sophie in the dance festival, well done to Thomas too, for sitting so nicely and enjoying the shows.
    700 shreddies is quite the achievement. It sounds like Thomas is a huge fan of them.
    Gorgeous spring flowers for Jessica, I love the daffodils.

  2. I’m glad you had a better week, sometimes the hard conversations are necessary and you feel a little lighter afterwards. Well done to Sophie for her dancing and Thomas for his patience. 700 Shreddies! I’ve just bought a box of those so I will be counting them out and seeing if I can beat his total 😀

  3. I am glad things are better this week and that having the conversations helped.
    Well done to Sophie with her dancing and that is good that Thomas is making progress.
    Fab photos! I love the marshmallow robot and hooray for the slow cooker! x

  4. Wow, that’s an amazing score for Sophie’s tap dance. Good going for Thomas, these things go on for ages. I remember my brother sitting there for ages hanging around for me at shows. Sounds like school is working well for him too.

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