This is actually all in combination with studying for my final exams that are due to take place in June, so if you happen to ask me a question and you get a confusing answer in return, it will be due to the overload of financial management and business software that circulates around my in psyche. It doesn’t sound fun does it? But, in comparison to the constant anxiety that Hayley experiences watching Camille seven days a week, I assure you, it’s a picnic.

 

It’s been the school holidays since we returned from the United States just over a week ago; this means that Hayley has been entertaining the two of them by herself for the first time in months. I’m not saying that I am a great help in the entertainment stakes, but at least I can offer Hayley a few minutes of alone time to refresh before returning to the onslaught of noise. In the US we had open access to the gym at the gated community where we were staying, enabling us the perfect place to go for that thirty minutes to an hour of “me time”. On our return to the UK we were faced with a massive hole that our daily workouts had filled and in addition, we actually really enjoyed getting fit. So on our return, Hayley and I have now joined the local gym to see if we can continue the good work we have achieved and give ourselves those precious minutes of quiet time.

 

The first few visits to the new gym were great; I had an early morning swim before the kids woke up, followed by a workout the next day. However, whenever you join these gyms, they push you towards a personal fitness plan with Chris, the fitness trainer dude. I spent forty-five minutes with that man and could have collapsed into a heap as I lumbered off the treadmill. My arms still ache and the session was four days ago. Imagine my smugness as Hayley tootled off today for her session with Chris, the fitness trainer dude. I had visions of Hayley falling through the door, clutching at the radiators (I have some American readers now – they are metal things on the wall that warm the house up – no need for those in Florida) wailing for an ice bath to encourage a speedier recovery. I was working upstairs when Hayley entered through the front door, so I did the honourable thing and sprinted downstairs to see how much pain she was in. The answer was none. She skipped around our kitchen like she hadn’t lifted a thing. Chris had even said that she was an athlete. Damn you Chris…… my poor aching limbs.

 

So, with Camille and Lucia at home for the week the house soon became a rubbish dump, with the playroom quickly becoming covered in numerous pieces of tat that they don’t play with and discard on sight. This view of a cramped, untidy playroom that is the focal area for the girls all day began to depress Hayley and because we were use to a wonderfully clean and open apartment, it was time for change. So Easter weekend was spent clearing the room down to the bare bones and making it a more pleasant area to live in. It did mean we had to go to the actual dump and navigate our way around the gatekeepers of the rubbish, but it was worth it. The place looks a lot better. Now all I need to do is to re-decorate. Another job I can finish at exactly 71% completion.

 

Camille has been fine on her return to the UK and after my birthday at the beginning of the week, it was time for Camille to celebrate her birthday over the Easter weekend. Last year, we were able to give Camille a big birthday party, but due to the lack of time and the resistance to spending such a vast amount of money each year, we decided during the week to get close family around for a barbeque. It was perfect for Camille really; she hasn’t been very good with large crowds at all and she is very keen to avoid over excessive attention. Even with a small group of people it’s hard to avoid attention when you are the birthday girl, but she spent most of the day, at the dining-room table playing crafts while her cousins and sister romped happily in the paddling pool, which is now a pile of useless rubber with a big hole in it.

 

Camille’s lack of ability to mix with the other kids is a major concern for Hayley and I, as she now moves towards her first day at pre-school tomorrow. She hasn’t been left with anyone except a grandparent or auntie since she was diagnosed at the age of two. I am extremely nervous of how she is going to react to being left with lots of other children and teachers who are essentially strangers. We have to do it as she starts proper school in September; we either wade through the pain barrier now or face that particular obstacle in September when the problem could be even more deep rooted. I hope she enjoys herself the first few days; that’s normally the hardest part done then and we can then begin to build her up in readiness for her big school.

 

We’re now used to being back in the UK; it seems like we were never gone. It’s a strange feeling at the moment; it’s almost like I’ve just woken up and the last two years were a dream, a very real dream. I wish they were.