Back to work!

Last year I decided to take a sabbatical for nine weeks in the late summer to have a complete rest and enjoy some quality time with Mike, away from the pressures of work. It was great and four weeks of the nine were spent in Portugal and the remainder were spent doing some much needed work at home and having a completely chilled time. I loved it. But I wouldn’t want to do it all the time – so no, retirement does not appeal to me.

This year I decided to have a break again – five weeks this time – and I was looking forward to it. But this year’s break turned out to be very different – but rewarding, just the same.

On the first day of my break my lovely mum-in-law became poorly and she came to stay with us. She’s 87 and she has been a total inspiration to me over the 26 years I have known her. Six days after coming to us she was admitted to hospital with a variety of problems and over the next ten days in the hospital she appeared to be deteriorating, looking very frail and we were seriously worried about her health. I was so pleased I was on holiday at home that we could visit her every day and try and boost her up. Mike and I soon discovered that hospital visiting is completely exhausting, as we were trying so hard to jolly up his mum when she felt so despondent. But her deterioration was more to do with her fear of not recovering rather than her health and suddenly she was released from hospital and allowed home to us again.

It was wonderful to be able to be available, cook her tasty food, chat and encourage her. Mike and I sit and chat with her about her life, how she met her husband and lots of things often not discussed with parents because we just don’t. And she has rewarded us with her positive attitude, not moaning once and being appreciative of everything Mike and I could do for her.

Yes, our holiday in Portugal had to be cancelled but that didn’t matter. The reward of seeing this wonderful woman, who had given her life to supporting her husband, (who died nine years ago) and her three sons, was worth it. We were so proud of her when we sat alongside of her when she was being asked questions relating to her life at home when she was being admitted into hospital. ‘Do you have any walking aids?’ ‘No’, ‘False teeth? ‘No’, ‘Hearing aid?’, ‘No’, ‘Help in the house?’ ‘No’, and when she was given the Alzheimer’s test, she answered the questions better than I could have done.

Today I go back to work. My five weeks have been very different from any five weeks I’ve ever had in my life but it has been so rewarding. My mum-in-law is now in relatively good health, still living with us and we have no time scale on that, nor does there need to be, and we are very happy to be able to care for her. She is now well enough to be able to busy herself through each day, eat well and sleep well.

And the icing on the cake? Our dog Waise (pronounced ‘Visor’) and our cat Tom have completely fallen in love with our new house guest. Waise is allowed to sit on the settee (previously forbidden) and she sleeps alongside her new ‘auntie’. She loves it and mum-in-law thinks it’s wonderful too.

Yes, I’m looking forward to going back to the office. I have had a real break and I’m all fired up for the next 12 months. The last five weeks have been fantastic for a very different reason than I anticipated.