Another path ....... the journey begins

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Hello @321zyx @AvocadoPlant @bendmeoverbackwards @BigWoollyJumpers @Braveheart35 @calculatorqueen @ChimneyPot @Dobbyisahouseelf @Eastisup @jano69 @Majaso12 @MidLifeCrisis007 @NCTDN @Notagardener @OnTheBenchOfDoom @Parsonage63 @Pumpkintopf @Peaseblossum22 @quest1on @Peaseblossum22 @SATSmadness @SeasonFinale @Tenpastseven @Vargas @Xenia

Apologies for anyone I omitted to tag

Yes so grateful @calculatorqueen

I hope your DD is a bit brighter today @AvocadoPlant

So many of our teenagers are out and having fun to silly o clock. Apparently my DD had an early night on Thursday as she was home by 1:15am! I'm just pleased she is happy and meeting lots of nice people. My DD says everyone is so friendly and only once has she heard another flat complain about a flatmate and their behaviour.

I'm looking forward to a proper chat with DS tomorrow rather than just a series of texts - feels like he's been gone way longer than just a week and there's so much to catch up on. I think like your DD Majoso he hasn't been hanging out with his flatmates that much but appears to have 'found' a good group of friends that he socialises with - he even said he feels like he has a squad he could share a house with next year. Early days but I'm so glad he's found some people he's enjoying hanging out with.

DD seems to have had a good first week. Some timetable clashes with the joint honours, but she can manage them by listening to the recorded lectures at a later time.
Out all night last night and was eating croisants in her kitchen at 6:30 am. They got the "party bus" from Warwick campus to a Birmingham nightclub.
Seems to have got rid of the Freshers lurgy. Many of them had the same bug and those who tested were negative for Covid.

So . . . DS came home yesterday for the weekend "to decompress" after the first 4 weeks.

Turns out his girlfriend is also back from the other corner of the country, so that had something to do with it.
It's been lovely to see him and I think it WILL do him good just to have a couple of days eating and sleeping at home. He's still got a lingering freshers flu cough (not covid, as he had that back in August).
He sounds like he's having fun - talks about lots of different groups of friends, has landed a part in a drama production and seems to be getting to grips with his coursework.
He HAS lost weight though and doesn't seem to have stopped eating since he came home. He's admitted that he didn't realise how long shopping/cooking etc would take and is shocked by how expensive food is!

Ah @Jng1 how lovely to have him home for a bit! Hopefully some good home cooking and lots of rest will see off that pesky cough. ☺️

@BigWoollyJumpers

For me the absence of DS1 is being felt more this week. Hugs.

I saw a friend for coffee yesterday, we both had tears in our eyes at one point talking about how we still missed our DC. Oh dear. It is a mini bereavement really, not seeing someone for a prolonged period of time, that you have had constant contact with over years and years. Roll on halfterm/xmas!

Sorry to say, with DD1, and I may have said this before, but every time she came home, and upon leaving again, for the first year, and again when she left in the second year, I always had another little cry . She did too though . Very emotional us lot.

Aww @BigWoollyJumpers I get it. My oldest went to boarding school for sixth form and I always had a little cry when she got on the train on Sunday after a weekend at home. Hated that (short) drive home from the station without her.

Oh your poor dd @AvocadoPlant I would also want to bring her home but it sounds like her flatmates are looking after her well. Fingers crossed the ABs kick in soon with no side effects.

Nothing much to report here from dd in Bristol. She seems to be enjoying everything so far, a few WhatsApp messages here and there and a couple of video calls when she's not busy! I'm relieved it's going well so far but also aware that there will be ups and downs especially in the first year.

So I'm not worrying about her so much at the moment. But our big worry is with dd1, I have been distracted with this issue so haven't been posting much. Dd1 is severely needle phobic and so far is unvaccinated for covid (she is 20). Three visits to the vaccine centre on the past 3 Saturdays, failed attempts each time. Last one was yesterday and I am emotionally drained with it all. She took a hefty dose of diazepam which didn't have much effect (too much adrenaline I suspect). She got very close but when the vaccinator came near she went into panic mode.

We are supposed to be having a family holiday to Mauritius at Christmas

Time is running out if she has to have 2 doses by Christmas and we will now to have to re-think our holiday plans. Very limited where unvaxxed travellers can go but we're looking at Dubai or one of the Canary Islands.

@ChimneyPot wow, kudos to your dd, it sounds exhausting! But the adrenaline will keep her going, she'll have a fab time.

Sorry to hear about the vaccination woes @bendmeoverbackwards . DS used to faint when the vaccinator comes near but is now better. Maybe the timing of the diazepam could be played around with?

Does she physically pull her arm away or push the vaccinator away? The other day I was vaccinating residents and staff in a care home for the mentally infirm. It was challenging to say the least and we needed three of us sometimes

Bendmeover, someone I know (a health professional!!) with a neelde phobia uses Emla cream before vaccinations. I think you can just buy it at a pharmacy.
Would be a shame tomiss out on holidays...

@bendmeoverbackwards we have vaccinated loads of needle phobic patients in the last few months. We're offering a bed to lie on, can do it in the thigh etc. I have a feeling from your posts that you are not that far from me. You're welcome to message me if you like to see if we can do anything to help. One of my colleagues in particular seems to be really good at helping the more anxious. (We don't give diazepam for this sort of thing as unlicensed - some of them I guess might have taken some unbeknownst to us though...)

Thanks @Chilldonaldchill I’ve sent you a PM.

@Notagardener she had Emla cream on her arm too! Didn’t numb as much as she thought it would. And in any case she says it’s not about the pain, she doesn’t know exactly what it is about.

Hope she gets it sorted

@bendmeoverbackwards. I have a needle phobic autistic teen with similar behaviours. I never managed to get the second HPV into him (“It’s fine - I’ll just never have sex and that will sort it”) and the first one was 30 minutes of drama.

I did manage to get the covid one done using the mental prop of EMLA, as mentioned above. We all know the covid jab is oddly painless, but emla helped him to disassociate front he process more (even though much of his issue isn’t really pain related - more this inner lizard brain fighting with his rational one).

If you try it, remember you ideal need the plastic film dressing too

Got the benefit of a local university today as DS1 came home for a few hours to watch the F1 race with his brother to mark my younger’s birthday. Was so lovely to see him. Sent him back with vast quantities of bog roll :-) AKA he raised our store cupboard.

Lucky you @Revengeofthepangolins . That's a lovely gesture by your DS1. How is he enjoying the course? I loved the look of UCL History myself.

Course is only winding up gradually really. H rid happy with his modules, which demonstrate one aspect of their course - one is 19th Century, one is Roman.

Some lectures though are not only online but pre-recorded, curiously. Some a choice for the students of live or zoom (the ones for ehich attendance is compulsory).

But he seems happy so far

@bendmeoverbackwards Sounds like you have a lot on your plate at the moment. I hope you can find a solution to help your DD receive her vaccination.

@Revengeofthepangolins glad he is happy

bend half our family have chosen not to vaccinate. It did not stop my daughter going abroad in the summer - she just had to have more tests before and after than had she been vaccinated. It was really not a problem.

@Xenia what countries did your dd visit? I think the rules are more stringent now. It CAN be done but mostly a quarantine period is required for non vaxxed adults. We’re looking at one of the Canary Islands now, Spain’s rules are less strict.