Just over a week ago I got a call from the in-laws asking if they could take my eldest, who's 12, to Spain for four nights. He was soooo excited, he's been studying Spanish for the past 6 months in preparation for his Spanish GCSE next year. Great,excellent news! The news got even better when they offered to take our daughter, she's 10, along with them. Now this is a brave thing to do. You see they are the hand luggage only type of travelers that rely on their feet or public transport to get around. Adding my daughter into the mix means that they are having to consider a whole host of issues that they would not have done had they only taken my son.
You see, my daughter has a genetic condition that, among other things, causes chronic pain and fatigue. On a good day in a warm engaging environment she will manage maybe the morning before she has to rely on her wheelchair to get around. Due to issues with her muscles in her hands,wrists, fingers, elbows and shoulders she can not self-mobilise more than a few paces. that means that they now have to take a wheelchair and walking poles which will be placed into the hold meaning a wait at the other end. Getting around the airport is no longer a simple matter of turn up, check-in and wander around until you board. they are having to consider help with transportation around the airport. Travel by foot and public transport,although possible, for Granny and Granddad now in their late sixties, it would be very tiring and difficult for them so car hire has been arranged. Toileting difficulties and a restricted diet also make the prospect of traveling to a different country daunting. So, hats off to them! Not only are they trying to offer their grandchildren a wonderful opportunity but they are rising to the challenges of traveling with a child with a disabling condition voluntarily.
All we needed to do was make sure both kids had a passport for Oct 3. No big deal, eldest went to Germany with his aunt in March and had a new passport then and a trip to Liverpool was arranged for next Tuesday to get one for my daughter. And here lies the problem. Where was my sons passport? It was not where I left it, which is never a good sign in this house! Hubby thought that he may have moved it somewhere safe. Now, he has the same condition as my daughter and suffers some neurological symptoms. He frequently moves things, does not remember where he moved them to and they usually turn up in the most unexpected places. Knowing even where to start looking becomes a guessing game,fridge? Bathroom cupboard? Garage?
We knew all the passports were together so the hunt began in earnest yesterday afternoon. Between the five of us we managed to search most of the rooms in the house resulting in a house that looked like it had been picked up and shaken. No luck! After a sleepless night wondering where it could possibly be we resumed our search this morning. At around 3pm this afternoon we finally found the passports, inside the phone book in the pencil pot?! Relief washed over me until I realised my sons was not there. Where was it? In struts my 12 year old, looks at me and says "I think Auntie Rosie still has it." A phone call to Auntie Rosie, who lives about 300 miles south of us, solves the problem of the missing passport, she still had it!
results of two days work is that the passport is being posted back tomorrow, daughters passport is going to be sorted Tuesday, there isn't a room in the house that even resembles tidy and the new study week has begun!
Having taken two days off study already due to the passport saga, I have no idea how this weeks study will unfold but I am sure with this motley crew it will be anything but plain sailing!