It's always easier to begin something new when life is quiet. And after weeks of upheaval, life is quieter again. Julie is living full-time in the hospital, where she has been living for 9 months now. We are just emerging (we hope, fingers crossed) from a difficult episde of psychosis that has lasted about a month, and there is no pressure on us at the moment to bring her home much. So we are having a few days of rest before we restart the long process of trying to coax her out of hospital again.
We took a complete day off, which is rare for a Saturday. I spent yesterday over at the hospital, so I felt we were due a break. We had tickets booked for open-air theatre in the afternoon. When we booked the tickets, Julie was supposed to be with us, but the consultant told us on Tuesday that it would be a bit too far for her to travel. We took her younger brother, Duncan, instead, and had a great afternoon. A bit of sunshine, a bit of rain, a picnic, and some really funny theatre - what more could you ask from a summer's afternoon? Life has been very tough for our family lately, and sometimes the simplest things are the best.
Julie phoned me up after we got back: it's usually a good sign if she phones me. She sounded very well today: she had been out walking and sketching in the grounds of the hospital, some of it unaccompanied. It looks as if the latest medication is working already. I am pleased but wary: it is literally days since the last self-harm incident and we have seen many false starts before.
Raising children who are different.
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