New beginnings

There seem to be so many things happening around me at the moment that I hardly have time to sit back and appreciate them. The last year has been frantic and very challenging but I finally feel there is light at the end of the tunnel.

The new garden is proving to be a haven - James has always loved being outside and a large garden was one of our essential criteria when we moved. Sadly, the previous owners had neglected the garden so whilst we had the space we also had the bindweed, brambles and building material (6 skips worth!) to contend with. Bea learnt to walk on the old lawn, full of dandelions and horribly uneven. James spent most of last summer with his legs covered in scratches from the brambles and unruly roses. So now that it is a safe, relaxing environment I've finally discovered the joys of gardening. Our last flat had a raised level garden the size of a postage stamp and wasn't particularly fun to be in. I did have a short spell of green fingered dabblings the second summer after we moved in (we got married the first summer) and grew quite a lot of seedlings, but the following summer I was pregnant and haven't had a moment since! I am woefully ignorant when it comes to gardening so when our designer said he was leaving us a plot to use with the children I decided it was about time I learnt a bit more. In my usual manner, that has entailed a bit of shopping - although I don't think 2 books and 10 packets of seeds is that bad! I don't know if it's beginners luck or the fact that the soil was well prepared, but so far so good - I sown sweetcorn, peas, carrots, spring onions, radish and rocket in our bed and everything has germinated. The radish are attracting the slugs so I'm off to find some environmentally friendly (and child friendly!) methods to keep them at bay. Tonight we ate our first salad leaves from my troughs and I'll plant some more soon. My friend brought round some cucumber, courgettes, aubergine and chard yesterday but I'm not sure that they'll all survive outside (we don't have a greenhouse) but I'll give them a whirl too. Bea loves to help me and her sunflowers are doing well and she's getting the hang of dead heading - she's a little overenthusiastic at times though, and keeps offering me various leaves she's picked, telling me they're delicious.

With all this growth going on in the garden I've noticed that James is very happy to be outside on the trampoline or in the summer house with us. In fact, he's started requesting that I join him on the trampoline - I suppose it goes some way towards me getting a bit fitter! We've been using "Intensive Interaction" techniques with him for some time now, but recently he has been reacting more positively to it, as if he's suddenly clicked that we're joining him in his activities. He is showing a lot of affection and when my parents were here they commented on his greater level of intereaction and awareness. It has been a long time coming - it's over 2 years since we really noticed his regression and it seems that he is finally beginning to make a little bit of progress. I look to September, when he starts school, with a sense of trepidation and worry - I just hope he doesn't find the change too difficult and upsetting. He has struggled immensely over the last 9 months at nursery, mainly because it was the wrong environment for him, and I am hoping that the smaller class (there will be 5 other children with ASD in his class) and higher level of support will mean he can start building on these foundations.

Another big change in our life is that I am earnestly looking at going back to work - I've been away for over two years now and feel that if I don't give it a go now I'll never get another chance. In medicine there comes a point where you've got so out of touch that you have to virtually retrain and I don't want that to happen. So I've taken the bull by the horns and am planning to start one day a week in the middle of July. So a lot of our time has been spent trying to find suitable childcare for the children - special needs nannies and childminders are few and far between, but there are some out there. It's been quite daunting, inviting people into our house, interviewing them and having to talk about James' difficulties with virtual strangers, but it's one more step towards me getting this part of my life back on track.