Friday Focus 31/05/2024 – Thankful

I’m thankful for being able to spend time with Sophie and Thomas this week over the half-term break. We had quite a traumatic start to half-term with Thomas being blue-lighted to hospital. I had a phone call to say he was drowsy and lethargic after bumping his head a couple of times at school and by the time the ambulance arrived, he was barely conscious. The ambulance trip and arrival to hospital brought back a lot of memories of the night Jessica died, especially as I was whisked off to the relatives room on arrival while the medical team were assessing Thomas. Thankfully it was only for a few minutes and Thomas was awake again by the time I was able to be back with him and after a few hours in the hospital was pretty much back to his usual happy self.

 

 

I’m thankful that Grandma was on hand to pick up Sophie while I was at the hospital as my husband was a couple of hours away working on an event. It brought back a lot of difficult memories for her. I was thankful that she felt able to go along to her Girls’ Brigade activity evening and was well supported by the GB leaders, who understood how traumatic it all was for her. Thankfully my husband was able to get back early from the event to bring her home just as Thomas and I got home ourselves.

 

I was also thankful that the monthly group session at Halo Children’s Foundation was on the next day. Halo helped Sophie hugely in those first couple of years after Jessica died and while we haven’t been to the sessions for a while, it was good for her to be able to go along.

 

I’ve been trying to focus on enjoying family time together this week, and on the whole, I’ve succeeded. I’m still feeling quite traumatised from last Friday’s events and have had some horrible flashbacks, but getting out and trying to have fun with Sophie and Thomas over the half-term break has helped. I’m thankful that we’ve had a fairly gentle half-term and have been able to enjoy activities here and there, but also have had plenty of downtime to just relax and home, have cuddles and enjoy being together.

 

 

What I’ve been grateful for this week:

 

 

 

• Day 145 – I am grateful for the paramedics, nurses and doctors who have looked after Thomas today after he was blue-lighted to hospital after a head injury. We’re home again now and he seems to be back to his usual happy self and hopefully will continue to stay well overnight. Grateful too for everyone who has been there for Sophie today while I’ve been with Thomas. It’s been a very traumatic day, but my boy seems to be okay thank goodness.

 

• Day 146 – I am grateful that Sophie was able to go along to the group session at Halo Children’s Foundation and had fun making slime.

 

• Day 147 – I am grateful for the joy of rediscovering toys that haven’t been played with for a while.

 

• Day 148 – I am grateful for some fun at the village fayre.

 

• Day 149 – I am grateful for some time with Thomas at Chiltern Open Air Museum while Sophie had fun at sports club.

 

• Day 150 – I am grateful for fun making pizza wraps cooked on the fire at Kids Go Wild.

 

• Day 151 – I am grateful for getting to see some farm animals at the park.

 

 

Other things that have made me smile this week:

• Being able to take Jessica some of the roses from the garden, including one from each of her, Sophie and Thomas’s namesake rose bushes.

 

 

• Sophie making a leaf heart for Jessica.

 

 

• Going bowling and watching Sophie helping Thomas.

 

 

• Making biscuits together.

 

 

• Thomas playing with one of his school friends at the park.

 

• Having a movie night.