Twenty-Ten

Ironically, after reading this article yesterday on the importance of imaginative play the Rs engaged in such play for hours while I stood by ready and waiting to begin our day. Every so often I’d try to break into their world to suggest activities such as getting dressed, eating, going out etc and while they’d both stop what they were doing to answer me almost as soon as they’d finished speaking the confines of reality would once again disolve around them taking me with it. They spent the morning in just their underwear playing Nanny and Grandads (one of their favourites), LazyTown, Doctors (which involved giving me playing cards aka money in exchange for cars aka medicine in order to make each other better). They also went to the fair and rode various things (like a laundry basket and a cot mattress) down the stairs. When I offered lunch they looked at me like I was completely mad. Eventually I had to drag them back into reality so that we could take ourselves to the post office where they had five pence each for sweets and melted the hearts of other customers as Ms R carefully helped Master R choose and count his sweets.

We fetched my Mum from work and went in for a chat. Mum did a far better job of explaining about people with severe learning disabilities in words that we could all understand. Ms R asked if she could meet some of them and my Mum said that if she could organise it then Ms R could talk to the ones who talk and Ms R said she would talk to the ones who couldn’t talk as well.

We left Master R with Mum to visit Nana and Ms R requested that her and I went for a bike ride. It was cold and a bit windy but Ms R still enjoys sitting on the back and surprisingly we manage to chat while I cycle. It’s good exercise for me. When we collected Master R he was happy to see us but didn’t think he’d done anything despite Mum telling us that they’d done loads.

They were both exhausted by bedtime and fell asleep almost instantly.