A skip in my step…..

Our recent holiday is not yet a distant memory.  It was quite simply the best holiday I have ever had and I said as much to my husband.  It was the best holiday I have ever had I think because it was so badly needed.

A significant portion of our lives are allocated to our responsibilities as carers – we do this lovingly and willingly and I’m not blowing our own trumpet in saying that we are, like many other carers, a hidden workforce.  This hidden workforce provides care that is estimated as being valued at £119 billion per year – pretty staggering isn’t it.  As a carer if you are lucky enough to qualify for carers allowance this works out at 35p per hour – that’s a pretty staggering figure too – how many people do you know who would feel valued at being paid 35p per hour?

Importantly carers aren’t just people fulfilling a really necessary role they are individuals with the same hopes and dreams everybody has.  I think that if the government really want to help carers then they have to take account of the fact that they need to be asking not just how they can support people as carers but what can be done to support them as individuals whose choices are limited by their caring role.

So yes our holiday was vitally important and as respite services are severely limited for older adults our holiday was made possible by the help and support of two special ladies – Janette and Aileen.

Our Respite Angels

My sisters in law took it in turns to come and stay, ensuring that there mum got the care and support she needed and that we got a holiday.  Without their support it quite simply would not have been possible.   Thank you ladies.

The dictionary tells me that ‘respite’ is a short period of rest or relief and I can’t tell you how necessary that is.  We all need respite from the stuff of life but I’ve never valued this more than when I became a carer – and that folks is probably why this was the best holiday I have ever had.

So thanks to our two ‘Respite Angels’ my husband and I got the holiday that we needed, we chilled and spent two weeks just doing what we wanted.  Once again we had the joy of spontaneity in our days (something that doesn’t exist in the world of a carer) and we savoured every signal second of our break.

So our holiday hasn’t just given us happy memories of sunshine, it has also given us the physical and mental boost we need. We are back into our lives with a bit of a skip in our step. Now all I have to do is figure out how I can ensure that we keep skipping – any ideas?