Hello Mark,
Sorry so slow to reply, I have been a bit stressed, sometimes life is just hard. My ex has had surgery and has been in intensive care this last week. I think he is getting a bit better though, hoping he might be stable enough for a regular ward next week. My son does not talk about what is going on with his Dad much, but sometimes says really grim things, and has been really clingy, hopping into my bed in the middle of the night (which he never usually does). I really believe that his Dad will be ok this time, but lets hope the cancer does not come back a third time. My son is only 12 and he needs his Dad. I met his Dad when I was in my early 20s, so we have a lot of history, and although we couldn't make things work, I care for him still. Neither of us have had any other relationship, I know that is really weird these days.
Mum has now been diagnosed with Non-Hodgkinson Lymphoma (a type of blood cancer) in addition to her existing degenerative disease (cerebral and cerebellar syndrome, peripheral neuropathy etc), but it is moving slow, so she does not want to bother with chemotherapy at the moment, as it will impact the quality of her life too much.
Your daughter can still do the animal course when it is the right time, if she wants to. There is no rush, maybe she is not ready yet. Has she started the driving lessons yet, or taken her learner permit test? The learner test can be a barrier to some (I knew a girl with dyslexia who took it 3 times). It will give her confidence to make progress with this, as it is a big step toward independence.
How are you going getting over your illness? Are you still coughing a lot? With covid around, people give you the evil eye if you cough, but then if you try to hold it in, it gets worse (I get asthma).
My son has a school camp coming up. He would not cope with it all, but usually what I do is get accommodation nearby for us, so he can participate in some of the activities without being there all the time. Hoping he can do the horse-riding and archery. Do your kids participate in school camps? I used to absolutely love them as a kid. I used to camp out in the back paddock with my best friend sometimes too, happy days.
Thanks always for reading
All the best