Today was a brilliant day, just brilliant.
Shall I tell you why?
Because this morning I got to see Sue smile: fan-bloody-tastic! The best smile you can ever witness. It made me buzz!
And even better? I got to see Beth again.
It was 11:30am. I’d been awake and doing stuff (writing, posting, blah blah blah…) since about 8am when my phone went. I picked it up. It was Sue – on a video call. I looked at it and wondered how I was going to explain the fact that I was still in bed.
Yes, I know… but it’s Sunday, and sometimes I just like to wake up and write what’s in my head. That’s what I’d done today.
Anyway, I answered it, and there was Sue… with Beth!
Beth is Sue’s daughter. She’s Downs. She doesn’t speak. She’s trouble. And I love her more than I could ever explain. And I haven’t seen her in three months and nor has Sue.
Beth is 15 and now lives in Residential care – probably the hardest thing that Sue has had to accept in her life – and because of the virus, she’s had no access to her.
Prior to today, the home Beth lives in had managed to set up one videoconference between Sue and Beth – with Beth on her iPad. But trying to make Beth understand what is happening is near on impossible. How bloody hard was that for Sue? I don’t think even she could explain.
But Sue did say though that, at one point during the videoconference, Beth grabbed her iPad and held it to her heart. Maybe in that respect she was showing (in the only way that she knew how) that she still loves her Mum. She’d seen her on the screen and grabbed that image to her heart. Obviously, we’ll never know for sure, but…
So today it was my turn.
Sue had mentioned that the home had made contact and said that she could see Beth. But they’d also said that Sue wasn’t allowed inside the home. She could come and pick Beth up and take her somewhere, but she couldn’t come in.
As I’ve said on many previous occasions: Bloody virus!
And yet I don’t really get this: Sue couldn’t go in, yet Beth could come out and see Sue, and then go back to the home. To be honest? What’s the difference? If Sue has the virus then Beth will have the virus and then the home will have the virus…
I just would really love to see some logic around this whole thing…
Anyway, back to the story:
Sue had told me beforehand that the weather forecast was rubbish. She wasn’t sure that she’d be able to see Beth if they couldn’t stay outside.
Fair enough. Like I said, Beth can be trouble. Outdoors she’s good. Indoors… blimey! Smash, crash, bash! Stuff gets broken, people get hurt and Beth just smiles…
Like I just said, she can be trouble…
But the video call came through. I picked up my phone and clicked the green button, and there was… well, there was Sue smiling, and there was Beth, smiling and rocking! She looked so happy! Her hair had grown long and she looked chunkier, but that’s just Beth. Her hair grows and she likes to eat, and I haven’t seen her for a while, so maybe that explains it.
Sue tried to get her to look at the phone – I was looking at the phone at my end and Sue was looking at hers. I hate technology, but sometimes it’s just bloody brilliant.
Did Beth see me? Did she realise that I was there, that I was waving to her and calling her name? Probably not. Sue was pointing to the phone and asking Beth if she remembered me. I didn’t really care. I remembered her and I was so happy to see her looking healthy and smiling. Three months is a long time.
Eventually, we ended the call.
Sue had told me that she was taking Beth to see her Grandparents – Sue’s Mum and Dad. Sue hadn’t seen them in a while either, so it was a win win – although Sue and Beth would obviously have to stay outside and just wave through the window. Bloody virus…
Later, Sue sent me photos. All of them showed Beth smiling – it makes me smile, just thinking about them now. As I said, I bloody love that little girl and it just makes me buzz to see her looking so happy.
It set me up for the day.
Sometimes you write stuff that makes you feel good. Sometimes you just write stuff that you see. Today I just wrote about stuff that made me happy… so happy…
Anyway, after the call, I went for a walk, I went for a swim, I varnished the chairs on the roof terrace a bit more (I still haven’t finished them!), I met my mate for a quick beer in the square, I chatted to Tony, to Milesy (he’d called me by mistake, and I’d called him back) I wandered down to the shack to write, and I wrote this – because I was happy…
Sometimes it just takes one call to make you totally appreciate the world around you.
Today I had that call.