Ok, so we had 10 days in Spain staying with family. Was great in some ways but not so great in others.
There has been a huge change in sister from when we last stayed there nearly 2 years ago and to be honest Aunt and Uncle struggled to cope with the person she is now. Uncle had been great at sitting with her playing games or colouring in but she can't concentrate to do that now. They brought out the big tub of duplo they keep for their grandkids visits but she didn't show any interest. She can no longer hold the sort of normal conversation she used to be able to and they just couldn't cope with all the silences and repeated phrases and questions. I've learned to be comfortable with those and just enjoy being together quietly but they found it awkward.
That's the cognitive differences. The physical changes were just as huge. They live in a lovely apartment at the top of a fairly steep flight of steps. With help sister managed to get up these but there were occasions it took me 20 minutes of gently coaxing to persuade her to let go of the gate at the top and take the first step down. There was a handrail for her to hold and I held onto her other arm the whole way but for some reason she found it terrifying at times. This was exhausting and Aunt and Uncle were frankly bewildered by it.
It was a huge effort to get her in and out of their bath. They don't have a separate shower so I had worked out a safe way to get her in and out of bath but she had to have it explained to her every time I bathed her and again she found this quite frightening. Needless to say baths were not a daily occurrence but in the heat I couldn't let her go more than 2 days without one.
So it wasn't quite as restful as previous holidays but we still had a lovely time. Auntie cooked about half the time and the rest we went out to eat which was nice. After persuading Aunt and Uncle we did our day trip to Sea World and she really enjoyed the Sea Lion and Dolphin shows but she was too afraid to step into the very shallow water to have her photo taken with a dolphin. I found that really sad as I know she had to be very frightened not to do it - it has always been the highlight for her.
I also found the travelling really stressful. I have always been incredibly independent - I found myself a single parent when my boys were just 2 and 3 and I think that made me [and all of us] very self reliant. Well, it is just impossible to get from airport parking to the terminal and through check-in [even with just 1 case] with a wheelchair and not have to accept help sometimes. Don't get me wrong - people were very willing, generous and gracious - I just hate not being able to cope by myself. Ok, so I'm a complete control freak.
So she won't be back to Torrevieja which is sad but we do have our Disney trip in December. The travelling will still be hard but Disney itself isn't - it is so action packed the time just flies by and so long as we can get to do everything we've planned and eat every day I will be happy. The priority pass then makes everything so much easier too.
So back to the present we met friends for lunch on Saturday at sister's favourite restaurant where I live. Guess why it's her favourite? Sorry - the pic is a bit shaky.
Photos of our Disney purchases.
Bought this lovely Minnie bag in Next's sale.
The H&M order arrived. The PJs and jumper are huge and would drown sister so I will take them. The rest should fit her ok.
This is a really fine knit jumper. I tried it on on its own over a camisole and it's lovely - clings in just the right way - but it's more of an evening top in weight and texture so I'm not sure. Over a black baselayer top it looked ridiculous as it's quite wide necked - might get a polo neck and see what it looks like over it.
These are the huge PJS that fit me.
Sister will love the sweatshirt
Socks
and these PJs we bought in Spain
as well as these lovely Christmas ones
I think we need a Christmas jumper or 2 each as well - have to get back to Primark this week for a look to see what they have.
xxx
Will tell you what I think when we've watched. 
love the jammies
