Therapy isn't a scary place for crazy people
“Therapy isn’t a scary place for crazy people, it’s a safe space for people who want to be their very best self”.
I believe we all need therapy to relieve or heal the physical, mental and emotional trauma in our lives. Because therapy is a very personal thing the options are almost endless. You only have to read a few of my blogs to see being active in the outdoors is the main form of therapy for our family. I am mindful of the possible therapeutic value of activities for Rory when I organise them. However, what I think is not always on the mark. Rory has persevered with yoga, art classes and weeding because I thought they were a good idea! This week I was lucky to go with Rory to volunteer at Doggy Day Care run by Hearing Dogs NZ. Rory spends time with a ‘pack’ of 10 small dogs. He plays with them, talks to them, pats them and takes them for a walk. His favourite is Frankie, a small sausage dog (Dachshund). The permanent smile on Rory’s face told me everything I needed to know about the value of the experience for him. It was priceless.
Without Colt our lives it was a quieter and calmer week. Rory had some cool people to hang out with. He and Natasha went to a movie. He stayed overnight with Nana and Poppa Honnor. Thursday was time at the Men’s Shed with Peter and towning around with Rob. On Friday he visited a couple of cafes with Jo and did some cooking at home. Rory and I attended a meeting with Robyn from Alzheimers Taranaki regarding Rory volunteering one morning at their day programme called ‘The Club’. It sounds like an awesome opportunity and we hope he can start by the end of the month. I attended a meeting about bringing the Enabling Good Lives (EGL) pilot to Taranaki. EGL is a new way of doing things in the disability sector. It is being led by disabled people and their whanau. The goal is to give them increased control over their lives and the support they need. There are a group of passionate people keen to bring the EGL programme to Taranaki.
Sean and I spent a belated day together for our anniversary. For years we have been keen to explore Taramoukou Conservation Area but there was no track system. This year tracks have been cut as part of a project by local iwi Ngati Tama to restore the forest. Armed with directions from one of our colleagues for a ‘nice stroll’ we spent 7.5 hours completing the NW trap loop (17km, 5 hours walking time). The highlights were; a pair of NI robin, skirting a huge swamp, seeing the head of the Onaero River and walking amongst huge Matai, Rimu, Kohekohe, Maire and Kahikatea in the heart of the forest. Sean was happy to shoot some feral goats. It was real backcountry tramping and my knees were feeling it at the end of the day.
Yesterday we met Grannie and Grandad Gardiner in Wanganui to collect Colt. We took the opportunity to visit a few of our favourite places; the River market, Sargeant Gallery, Article Café and NZ Glassworks. We explored the Museum for the first time enjoying the Teeth, Talons and Taxidermy exhibit (complete with a polar bear splatter turd) and the Lindauer paintings.
Thank you to Prippy for the directions for our tramp and to Grannie Gardiner for caring for Colt this week. Our heartfelt condolences go out to Natasha, Rory’s companion, who lost her mum on Friday. We are thinking of you and send our aroha and kaha.