So what of the rest of us?!
Des continues to make an impression and is now (already) the longest serving care giver of the current crop. She does have staying power! Added to this is her venture into the care of tetraplegics. She is stimulated, challenged and derives personal satisfaction from her efforts. She has received extensive on the job training and is now able to disperse her duties unsupervised, though most sessions are in conjunction with a nurse.
She hopes to travel to Christchurch soon to undergo patient specific training at the specialist clinic, before returning with her new patient, a 16 year boy from Waikanae who broke his neck in a swimming accident off Raumati beach.
She is still enjoying her soccer, though the team really need a win with only one so far this season. A generally good bunch of ladies and Des has built some solid friendships.
Des was rejuvenated with the visit of her sister and I was surprised at how well she coped with Popsy's departure.
As for Meghan?
Well she has been the quiet one (as per usual) with not much to report. She brought home a fantastic mid-year report and is forming a close friendship with a girl in her class, who hails from Holland! She goes through spurts of writing, though the output has not been revealed for public consumption, yet! She has promised to finalise and publish. I for one can't wait.
Des and I are eager to ensure she gets back to her horses. We were forced to terminate our lease agreement on Melba, the old hag just getting too old and us not trusting the owners should the four legged loper turn for the worse!
We aim to see out the winter first and then make a decision on whether to buy or lease again. We are in good standing with the owner of the Pony Club and thus have someone from we can elicit advice.
Travis?
Sport, sport and more sport! He has had a meteoric rise up the soccer ladder and was selected for Kapiti Coast United's first team after only three games in the reserve side. He scored 7 goals in two games for the clubs 3rd team, then 6 goals in 3 games for the 2nd team, including hatrick. He has started every game and generally plays tyhe full 90 minutes. Of note is that the clubs first team play in the top flight of club football in Wellington, so making his debut the week before he turned 15 was special. He has only scored 1 goal with one game to go for the firsts in something like 7 or 8 games, but has been a great asset to the team and named man of the match on 3 occasions. I expect he will make a representative side this year and the best news of all is that the club, having won promotion to the top flight last season (for the first time in the clubs rather long history) have managed to stay up, finishing mid-table, so Trav will be able to grow his game again next year with continued exposure in the top flight.
So with the re-cap out of the way and the evening train arriving at Paraparaumu, time to log-off and pack-up! Hopefully the coming blogs will be less historic and more detailed . . . .