2025/2026 Recap

 Yes, I know.... psffff 'YEARLY' post. Yeah, right....

Well, life is busy! It's even busier when the day to day is school runs and managing a small child with additional needs as well as working, and managing a household by one's self. 

Let me catch you up on the highlights again:

THE BOY

Not going to lie, it's been a struggle. I've long suspected that Henry's brain did not work in a neurotypical fashion and we are getting to a place now where we understand to what extent. It's been 2 years of behavioural struggles, phone calls/meetings with school, SEND assessments & referrals, GP & specialist appointments, Alternative Provisions, independent research on neurodivergence, support groups, and trial & error. 

What I have gleamed so far (not that we've received any official diagnosis--this is still ongoing) is that Henry has combined ADHD & Autism with a PDA (Pathological Demand Avoidance) profile. What that means in a nutshell is that I have a loud, hyperactive child, with no recognition of personal boundaries, a desperate need to control the environment around him and craves independence, but is incapable of doing most things unsupervised. 

He needs constant 1-to-1 support, not only for safety reasons (he has a habit of running off when upset), and to help with basic hygiene (toileting, dressing, etc-the amount of times I have to check he made sure to put underwear on😒...), but also to make sure he's on task (whether that's schoolwork, a reminder to eat, or reminding him the rules of a game he loves playing). 

It ends up being a 'constant carousel of care'. As a single mum it can be hard enough to do the school runs, work part time, and manage a household by one's self. With him it's like having a full time carer job on top of all of that and things often fall by the wayside. 

I've never enjoyed the daily monotony of household chores, but I get dysregulated when there's mess-like it's on top of me. So while I'm juggling how to help Henry in any given situation, I'm also surrounded by piles of unfolded laundry and dirty dishes that makes my anxiety shoot up. My anxiety builds and I end up overwhelmed, which makes it harder to do daily tasks, but I push myself through because otherwise it would never get done. It's all up to me, to get through life for me and my little man. So while it looks like I'm being super-mum and doing it all alright, under the surface there is a lot more going on.

Still for all the struggles, I love my little boy and he is growing up rapidly. 

First Day of School - Reception

First Day of School - Year 1

First Day of School - Year 2 : The terror...

First Day of School - Year 2
(a nicer photo w/ daddy)

SUMMER HOLIDAYS WITH THE AMERICAN MAMA/NANA

Last year my mum came over to visit Henry and I in the summer. She normally is able to stay for a long stint, making the journey more worth it, but this time (over the summer) due to other commitments her usual 3 months in England was shortened down to 2. Still, we were able to make memories and it was nice having another adult in the house who could tag team watching Henry, especially when going abroad. 

My mother, world traveller as always, was able to treat Henry and I to an all inclusive holiday to Turkyie. It's not some where she would think of travelling. But when she asked me where we'd like to go, I was looking for somewhere we (my mum included) have never been and a place that had amusements/water slides/parks/etc that Henry would enjoy himself. Turkyie delivered. 

    The absolute bonus of going to a country like Türkiye .... all of the feral cats. It's a vacation made in heaven for me when I have a plethora of cats to coddle.  

Feral Turkish Cats & Kittens all around the resort!!!

Besides taking Henry home to America for a family reunion a few years back, I've never been able to take Henry out of the country with my anxiety. And even with the trip to America-I had help (Liam came with me and at least was able to be an extra set of hands while I ran around after Henry). The boy is trouble (he's a flight risk) so going places solo with him is a tremendous amount of work. 

Summer Pirate Party

Side Story: I once took him to a museum in Bristol, lots of science-y stuff, displays and experiments where kids could get involved. It was brilliant, until I blinked and he was gone, behind a display or somewhere I couldn't see him. I had told him not to do something, or parent him in some way and his PDA kicked off-he wanted nothing to do with me so he took the opportunity to run away from me and hide. He kept hiding, and I ended up wandering around looking for him, then chasing him from display to display for a good 10minutes before I caught him and had to give him a very stern talking to. 

Anyway, getting him on a plane on top of all the normal airport stressors was ALOT to handle because of his past behaviours. Then thinking about having him in a foreign country where people may not always speak English, I was afraid of getting separated from him and then not being able to communicate with authorities to get him back to me safely. Having my mom going on a trip with us was reassurance that 2 adults would be watching him, there would be less room for mistakes and so I gave going abroad another go. 

I'm glad I did. It was a lovely Holiday and made me want to travel more and do more things that I enjoy.

2026

Going into 2026, I decided this was going to be MY year. My motto for everything this year was 'fuck it' to money and worries and just 'do the thing', 'buy the tickets', and 'experience life'. I've long put myself and my wants, as Jenny the individual (not 'Mummy'), on the back burner. 

So, there was a lot of booking tickets, concert/festival going, travelling abroad, and adventures this year, and long may they continue :) Not just for myself, but events and holidays with Henry as well.

Weekend Getaway to Bracknell - Needing a holiday fix, I looked at short breaks in March, just for Henry and me for a weekend. I found a place not far outside of London that had a few attractions, so off to Bracknell we went. Main highlights: 

Coral Reef - A swimming pool with a giant Pirate Ship in the middle & water slides (flumes):

The Living Rainforest - A fascinating conservation site, where we saw lots of plants and animals in a habitat made for them. The most fascinating was seeing Cinnamon the Sloth:

Legoland - Henry wasn't too thrilled about the typical rollercoasters & other fast moving attractions, but he did love the Ninjago ride (a 3D shoot out type ride) and was fascinated with seeing all the Lego figures around the theme park:

Family Holiday to Skomer Island - A friend of mine told me about Skomer, as she was able to do a 'landing tour' of the island and see lots of Puffins. Henry has been fascinated with Puffins recently, so along with crocheting him his very own puffin teddy, I decided to book a whole trip to Pendine Sands so we could go see the Puffins IRL. 

Close enough to touch (but DON'T) the widdle Puffins

Amazing. 10/10 would recommend. We spent the weekend in a Caravan park, played arcade games, visited the beach, played in the park -- all the usual holiday stuff around. Liam even found a car event on the beach - Motorbikes and cars racing for the Land Speed record.

A beach Holiday in Türkiye

Liam and I also had a getaway to Türkiye, just the two of us. After my trip with mum last year, I wanted to take Liam to experience the all inclusive life. 

Although the trip was lovely, there was a black shadow cast over us the whole time. A few weeks before the trip, Liam tragically lost his Dad in a car collision. It was very sudden, unexpected and left the whole family in a tailspin. I was ready to cancel the trip or do whatever Liam wanted/needed, hoping I could support him in any possible way. We talked about what it would mean, if we went, 

"Would we be missing anything vital?", "Is there anything we could do to help at home instead of going?", "Would this trip be a reset for our mental health and worth taking?" After speaking with family, friends, and even the police investigating his dad's case, there was a general consensus that going abroad would be a welcome distraction and Liam would regret not going.

So, we spent the week trying to enjoy ourselves, distract ourselves at the very least, and make the most of the time we had inside our own little bubble. The bubble of course burst several times throughout the week, and there were a lot of tears - every time a song played that reminded Liam of his dad, or a phone call/text from home updating him/checking up on him.  The most I could do was be there for Liam, and remind him that there was no pressure to 'enjoy' himself/'be happy' on holiday. 

We went through the motions and used the trip not only as a distraction, but a reminder to keep living. We had a buffet to feed us (reminded Liam to eat instead of wasting away from grief), we had activities to keep us busy instead of sitting still and dwelling on the bad, and the sunshine was an instant mood booster for Liam who's a little sun baby anyway. The bottom line was, go, try to enjoy ourselves, and remember that grieving is natural, we were allowing ourselves to process, just in a different country. 

 And once again....I spent a lot of my time with the feral cats of Türkiye. 

It helped that they flocked outside our villa, so whenever Liam needed a quiet moment to himself, to sleep in the middle of the day, I would just be outside petting the cats until he needed me. 

Summer Fun 2026

Following our trip to Türkiye, Liam and I also took a long weekend trip to Czechia in June. The trip was primarily to attend BLUDFEST -the festival that artist Yungblud started. Everything besides the actual Festival Tickets were booked on quite short notice (flights, accommodation, airport parking, transport, etc). We found a place in Prague to stay for a few nights, explored the city, walked ALOT, then took a train to where the festival was being held. 

It was the start of a VERY VERY hot summer, so as much as the festival was enjoyable, it felt like a fight for survival in 30-40*C heat. This was especially true at a festival, where we slept in a hot as hell tent that woke you up at the rising of the sun and had very little relief from the heat during the day-no shade. Lots of sweat and sunscreen and remembering to eat and drink so we didn't pass out.

By July, the weather behaved enough that we didn't pass out at Fantasy Forest Festival - my yearly pilgrimage to Sudley Castle to satisfy my love of  Renaissance Fayres. Early in the year as well, some of my friends and I attended another Medieval faire in Glastonbury, which was also rather enjoyable.   

Then, it was time for my mum to make another appearance! It's starting to become a yearly thing for mum to travel out to see me and Henry, as she is the resident world traveller. This trip was on the back of ANOTHER European adventure she had with my niece and nephew (mostly Germany). If that wasn't enough, mum said we should go on another all inclusive holiday with henry while she was here... so off to SPAIN WE GO!

Mallorca was a beautiful place, but again this holiday was less of a holiday and more of an exercise in SURVIVAL MODE.

First of all, both mum and I ended up being indisposed for one reason or another, so we had to tag team watching the boy, whilst feeling a bit under the weather.

Secondly, it was HOT, too hot to be out in the sun all day and there was only 2 ways to gain relief: in the pool/splashpads or in the resort room with mediocre air conditioning. 

It was a challenge, but Henry enjoyed himself and the few amenities this resort had-The splashpads were a big hit and we spent most of our time in one of the 2 kids areas-The Jungle Aquapark or The Pirates Splashpad. 

I was happy enough to be able to get a few solo adventures in--walking to a nearby beach cove, wandering the surrounding areas, and of course, making friends with the local cats. I also got a pretty good tan while lounging in the sun watching Henry play. 

The best part, although it was a hardship, was managing to get all three of us to the main beach. Beautiful clear waters, picturesque views, and I even managed to get Henry to try my snorkel mask on for about 1 second so he could see the fish swimming around us. 

The beach was only about a 10/15min walk from the resort, but the walk, in the extreme heat, nearly killed the boy & the mom. I'd feel bad, but I know we made good memories and they would have regretted not seeing the ocean.  Consolation - I gave the boy my portal electric fan & my mum had my UV umbrella to get relief from the heat. And I enjoyed the Mallorca coastline in the blistering sun. 

While mum was here we did do other things, day trips, overnight stays for weekend adventures with Henry, which took a lot of planning and ticket buying ahead of time on my part. All part of my, 'do the thing, book the ticket' mentality--I was on a roll. 

We ended up taking Henry to see his first stage Musical (Matilda, the Musical).

We spent time in Hereford high town when they had their own free Medieval Fayre going on.

We visited Lego Discovery, the Birmingham Sea Life Centre, and Twycross zoo (twice!). 

GIGS!

I also treated myself to 3, coming up on 4, music-centric gigs this year. One was Bludfest, which turning into a full blown adventure as well as ticking off "Go to a Yungblud gig" off my bucket list. 

In the spring, I booked a single ticket to go see Jinx Monsoon, an ex RuPaul's Drag Race Winner, live on stage in her one woman show "Speaking of Witch". 

And, as another solo adventure, I booked a ticket to go see the Hollywood Vampires--which is a super group comprised of various established artists such as Alice Cooper, Tommy Henriksen, Joe Perry (of Aerosmith fame), and Johnny Depp!  In my teenage years I had an absolute obsession with Johnny Depp, and actively went back to watch any and all of his movies/TV appearances. 

It would've been better if I got to meet the man himself, but being in the same room as these legends and enjoying an amazing rock show was plenty enough. 

Liam even bought a last minute ticket (literally on the day, a cheap resale ticket popped up) and came to see the show with me. 

The next gig I have booked this year is one I'm most excited about: My first K-pop Concert. 

I've been a fan of Korean pop music for a long time, but I've only ever been a casual listener. I watch the new music videos and stream music on Spotify, and I love what I listen to passionately. But I've never been a true 'super fan' like most Kpop fans are -- buying all of the merchandise (albums, posters, photocards, light sticks), following groups or solo artists on all the platforms (more than just twitter, Instagram, you have Asian country specific apps like WeChat that give fans more fuel to stalk kpop idols), and spending exuberant amounts of money on concerts, fan signings, etc. The last one partially because access to Kpop events have happened primarily in East & South Asian countries. 

Over the past decade, Kpop has spread wider internationally and tours started branching out to parts of Europe & America, but not extensively. The music is more engraved in pop culture and more people in Western countries are listening to Kpop, but still the chances of seeing a Kpop concert near me is slim... and the ones that do come close enough end up being in the biggest cities (London or LA), at the wrong time for me(couldn't make the date, wouldn't coincide with travel), or at an astronomical price (like....if I'm paying upwards of £300, I want VIP at this rate, not a seat in the nose bled section). 

Although it did still cost a bomb, and the concert is a good 3 hours away from me, I finally took the plunge and bought a ticket to my first Kpop concert! :)  So in November, I'm taking a weekend trip to see Taemin on his Liminal Tour. 

Taemin is the youngest member of a 2nd generation kpop band called SHINee. They have been around since 2008, putting out more music recently despite losing members. Taemin gained traction as a solo artist because of not only his vocal abilities, but his amazing stage performances, so much so that he performed at Coachella this year (which for a foreign artist means you've made it huge in America).

He's one of the few artists in Kpop that I really admire their ability to dance (I liken it to Michael Jackson fame--intricate video concepts, mesmerizing dance moves) and I can't wait to see him up close and personal on stage. 

Liam is coming with me, not to the concert, but he's keeping me company on my travels and overnight stay and while I'm at the concert, being a little Kpop fangirl, he'll be doing his own thing.

It's one of the last things I've looking forward to this year. The only other thing that might happen is a works trip to Italy in December, but that is still TBD.