I got that Friday feeling.......

Hello everyone, are you all looking forward to the weekend?? I know for many people that 'Friday feeling' is all about the joy you feel at reaching the end of another working week, but this post isn't actually about that.  I once read a quote (can't remember where, probably facebook or somewhere similar) that said "When you find something you love, you will never work a day again" well I have never really understood that quote, I mean even a good job is just a job, right?????? Well until rcently, but now I have found a place where that quote applies perfectly, so please let me introduce you to the cause of my alternative Friday feeling.....



 L.I.F.E Leisure Idependance Friendship Enablement Services   



Is a company set up by my very good friend Craig Howley. Now it would be very difficult to explain L.I.F.E without telling you a little about the phenomenon that is Craigy (he will read this i'm sure but I don't mind him knowing how cool I think he is). Now I have known Craig for the past 22 years since I was at school (my god I'm soooo old) and he has for all that time worked looking after people with learning dissabilities. And for all that time he has been a larger than life character, always the joker, a eternal child and natural born entertainer.... I am now gonna embarrass him by showing the earliest pic I have of him, this was a drunken weekend away in Glastonbury, Craig just had a bottle bounce off his head, and another of Craig in his favorite passtime, dressing up (not like that, you naughty lot).

and yes the blond bit is me........

Fast forward many years and I began working in a residential home that worked along side the daycentre Craig worked at. He was very popular with the clients there, everybody loved him. However the nature of care for adults with learning dissabilities is dramatically changing at the moment thanks to the austerity measures our government is having to impliment (thanks to the bankers of the world) and the resulting service being offered to our clients is one that is not the always able to give what they need or even (shock horror) what they want.   Now many of us carers don't like these changes but few people have the balls to do something about it.
Craig is one of those people (along side his partner Adrian) and so set up L.I.F.E as an alternative to traditional day centres or personal assistants.

So why does L.I.F.E give me a Friday feeling???
Well obviously it is not the joy of being at the end of the weekend and looking forward to no more work for 2 days. My Friday feeling is actually a sense of pleasure that comes from looking forward to going to work ( on a Friday, tho I have recently started getting a Thursday feeling too).
And this sense of pleasure comes from the people I work with and the people I support.  Those I work with are a fab bunch of people, who have a real passion for the job we do, and are detrmind at all times to carry out their role as well as they can, and I will let you into a secret now, it really isnt a hard job, the main aim of our job is.... (drum roll)......... To make people happy!!!! I mean how cool is that. OK, obviously there is more to it than that, but that is our ultimate goal and this is such a refreshing change  from the attitudes of many social support providers who treat individuals as no more than numbers. As long as  they are physically well cared for then they consider their job done.
Fridays are especially cool because we do Karaoke. Now I have never before met a group of people that sing with so much enthusiasm ( and yes if I'm honest, so badly) as the guys we look after, it is a pleasure to watch. And whats more I am one of the best singers there ( I know it is wrong to take personal satisfaction from that fact, but hey, I'm only human after all). I also do nail art with my girlie's on a Friday, these ladies do not often get the chance to have girly things like this done for them as it is not seen as essential, which is pants!! Who out there doesn't feel good after a pampering session.....
Now  I would love to put loads of pics of all the gorgeous people we look after and what we get up to, but that would go against confidentiality, but I am able to put a link to their site here so you can check for yourselves the fun we get up to......
http://l-i-f-e-services.co.uk/#/photo-gallery/4558509108

OK that's me signing off now, I have work tomorrow, were going swimming in the morning and shopping in the afternoon, Happy days,
See you all soon,

Tracey X

I fell in love with Peter Parker........

Hello everyone.... Are there any Spiderman fanatics out there?? Well if so I apologise now, because the Peter Parker the title refers to is not the webbed wonder, although he dos feature in this post, along side Captain Jack sparrow and Doctor Who. Intrigued? well continue to read and I will introduce you to a man who far surpasses all of those hero's in terms of their ability to capture my heart........



So who is this amazing man then

Well first of all I should tell you a little bit more about myself. I am a support worker for adults with learning disabilities, and in this job have met some amazing individuals, but none are more special than those who have Downs Syndrome. Now I'm sure many people will think it is wrong to have a 'favorite' type of individual, and of course they are right, but I would dare anyone to spend any reasonable length of time with someone with Downs and then say they don't feel they have met a special person.

I  could now give you all sorts of facts and figures about Downs syndrome, but there are better  places if that is the type of info your looking for, one I would recommend is http://www.downs-syndrome.org.uk/ 

Instead I am going to tell you some common misconceptions I have heard about people with Downs and also why it is that I think these guys are so special. Note this is my own personal view/opinion so if anyone disagrees, well tough innit!!

First misconception - Downs individuals never get angry... I hear this quite a lot and it is a total load of twaddle!!!!.... I have seen individuals with Downs have the most almighty tantrums. However these guys do not generally bear grudges. They also appear not to be malicious or spiteful, so although a person might in the short term annoy them, they will very quickly forgive and regain their naturally sunny dispositions again.

Second Misconception - Downs individuals are like children... This assumption is levelled at many groups of individuals with learning disabilities, particularly those those with Downs.  Again it it very untrue. An individual with downs who is 30 will have experienced 30 years of living and have the same dreams as everyone else. what makes downs individuals appear childlike, I believe, is their capacity to live very much in the moment. They take absolute delight in whatever they are doing NOW, with not a great deal of though for what happened in the past or what will happen in the future. this is a quality adults tend to lose as they get older.

So there it is, Downs individuals in my opinion are sunny natured individuals that live in the moment, take delight in everything they do and never stay angry for long. Add to that a general liking for giving cuddles and you can Begin I hope to see why I think they are special.

You may have guessed by now that 'Peter Parker' is an individual with Downs, and top marks to you if you did.  Now obviously I cannot reveal his true name so I will continue to refer to him as Peter Parker. He did live spiderman, Pitates if the Caribean (he use to call Jack Sparrow 'John Parrot', which still makes me smile now )  and he was as big a Whovian as me.... He did a mean Darlek impression......

Now I knew Peter Parker for over 8 years, and during that time he managed to worm his way into my heart in a way that few other people  did ( his girlfriend being the only other person to gain my affections to the same extent, she also had Downs). Now those who work in social care at the moment will know that we are now encouraged to maintain a 'professional distance; from the people we look after at all times, not to get close to them.  Well here in this post I am going to say that is B*ll*x..... you do not spend 30-40 hours a week for 8 years  with someone and not become attached. I loved the little guy very much...... and so this leads me to explain why I am writing this long rambling post.......

Almost a year ago now Peter Parker passed away. A year on I still miss him, and I am most definitely not looking forward to the anniversary of that day, but when it comes I shall remember him and think to myself how privileged I was to have known him.......

Now I hope that somehow in this post, I have managed to  convey to you all the real experience of knowing someone with Downs. As people with Downs are living longer and becomming more visable in society, it is possible you may meet them more often. Say hello, get to know them, I promise you will not regret it.......  

Thats me signing off for now, see you again soon.....

Tracey Xx