Just another Chapter

Hi guys it feels so good to be back, so what has happened?..
After Al lost her Dad, a decision had to be made as to who was looking after Al's Mum.. This decision was an easy one as we had both agreed with Al's Dad before he passed away that we would do anything to make sure that her Mum stayed in her own home, something her Dad had done..
So our lives were turned upside down and Derwent6 was rested in a marina and plans were made for us to live in Kent..  Christmas 2014 was not a happy one with losing Alf and looking after Pam who had Alzheimer's.. We did manage to take her out on Christmas Day, but she kept falling asleep and was very sick on the return journey, and we were not able to take her out again from that day on..
So we were carer's and tried to take it in turn's to care.. We did manage to go swimming and get out when we could, but separately.. We also had some respite from a company called Crossroads and they gave us some time together on a Monday afternoon for two and a half hours and every other Friday for three hours.. Without this we couldn't have done it..
Del could only cope for about three weeks and then had to get some de-stress time back home on Derwent6, to recharge his batteries, as well as the ones on Derwent6, before he could do another three weeks.... Al could only get away when her sister or friends could look after her Mum.. We must stress that Pam was very easy to look after, even though she was immobile and had to be hoisted everywhere. We had carers coming in three times a day to help us and the local surgery and district nurses were also brilliant, we had so much support..  All these things kept us going..
We lost Al's Mum on the 4th January 2016 and we thank her so much for getting through a very difficult Christmas 2015.. It was the first time we had not had a Christmas dinner on Christmas Day, as Pam took a big dip, but funnily recovered on Boxing Day to manage to eat our turkey and she even managed some Christmas Pudding, which she really enjoyed bless her..
Even at her bedside on the 4th she managed to mutter out the word's " Thank you for looking after me" we both cried..
We had some lovely moments with Pam, she made us laugh and gave us some fantastic memories that we will treasure. Alzheimer's is a terrible disease and takes all those memories away from us all but we did have a lovely "Long Goodbye"..
Another good thing we did was get a new addition to the family. We got a kitten and called him "Tooty" as all Pam's cat's were called Tooty. We hoped she might remember his name if we kept using it, she never did! He was a ugly little thing when we got him and was the last one in the litter as no one wanted him.

Pam loved the cat, watching him play, climbing the sofa and the curtains and feeding him cheese on toast when we wasn't looking.. The cat helped Al when Del wasn't there, and gave her someone to chat to and comfort her in the evenings..

So what we up to now? Well, we are sorting out probate and also the house in Kent. Del is having his knee looked at and we are getting back to Derwent6 when we can.. We just want to say that Brinklow Marina have been brilliant in helping us out through this difficult time..
The house is a difficult one for us as Al was born there, and all our courting was done in the area, 37 years ago, and we have quite enjoyed the village life, not that it beats the boating life... I guess we just have to let time take it's course..

So we are now back on Derwent6 for a few days and loving it.. Del has done his brasses and Al is back to reading her books and keeping the log burner topped up, lovely!
Today we have filled with diesel, had a pumpout, and filled with water and Yes! we have Tooty with us..  He loves it! He has turned into a lovely well loved cat, and I'm sure you will be hearing a lot about his antics in the future..

We will blog when we can or when we are back home but look out for us, we might be out a lot more now..
    

Yes it was just a chapter, a moment in time, and we have lost some lovely people in our lives, and that loss will take some time to come to terms with, but life still goes on, and it just reminds us you have to enjoy it while you can...