People keep telling me I should do something with my time off other than visiting my Mum, shopping etc so I decided to do a course that was advertised as being free for Carers at one of the local technical colleges. The course is for seven Mondays from 10am - 1.30pm which means I can do it while Ray is at Daycare.

Today wasn't day one as I had thought as there was an interview day last week, but I missed that as I had the visitors etc. But today was the first full class and a very interesting one too. It is being paid for by our Federal Government's Department of Health under the Mental Wellness Scheme. Most caregivers would agree that caregiving for long periods of time does send you mad so I can see the point in funding a course designed to take some of the stress out of caregiving.

Today was story telling day. There were 17 participants so I heard 16 harrowing, hair-raising, sometimes very traumatic stories. Sixteen carers, most of whom were caring for more than one person, with a mixture of physical and mental illnesses, some of whom are life time carers as well are a powerful group to be a part of. A mother of a daughter and a father of a son had both cared full-time for their child for over 30 years! Makes my effort with Ray seem puny by comparison. The course conductor has been a hands-on caregiver for her mother and only recently returned to teaching so she has a wealth of experience also. I am expecting to get some good information from the group and maybe learn how to obtain the help I will need for Ray, particularly as the dementia progresses.

I think in any support group I have belonged to there is always a wealth of knowledge. Today was a pretty harrowing day with all the sad stories but I could tell that a lot of people in the group will be able to offer help and advice based on their own experiences as it is needed. You do learn so much on the caregiver journey and it does feel good to pass that on to others. Another woman from my dementia support group was there too so we will be able to talk over anything we learn on the course. She cares for her mother and like me is going through the process of trying to get a balance of in-home care and Daycare that will allow her to have some personal time.

Even the lunch today was paid for. Our course conductor joked that she must be the only person who starts the course with a party but she got some funding from the Minister for Health personally and spent it on food for us. It was nice to gather around the table and have half an hour of informal chat with coffee and sandwiches at the end of the storytelling. I think it was what we needed before we went home to pick up the threads of our own households again. In my friends case I am hoping that her dear Mama has been good for the professional carer today as she is a feisty old lady and a bit of a handful by all accounts.

Last week was a bit of a let-down after the party was over, the visitors had gone home and the house was quiet again. It was dull, overcast and quite cold towards the end of the week so I got that "can't be bothered" feeling that seems to come along with that sort of weather. I need to go on with my cleaning, sorting out etc though. It is good if I can clean room-by-room when I have a week when there are not too many outside the house appointments. Of course we had all the usual happenings plus Ray's cousin's wife's funeral on Friday and that seemed to take most of the day. I do have to take Ray to the doctor's tomorrow to get his scripts updated and re-issued but nothing else major in the week. Touch wood..knock knock.

Ray has been "invited" to go to Camp Breakaway again. He will be going from 12th - 15th August which is next week. At the moment I have no plans for the time but might go to the movies, out to dinner etc if I can find some companions to do that with. I'll ring a couple of older widowed friends and see if they are busy. I can't visit my daughter like I did a couple of years ago, not worth going all that way for three days. But I am sure I will find something nice to do.

I keep thinking four more weeks of this weather and then things will slowly cheer up for Spring. I don't mind the short cold days but until the days draw out a bit I don't like the long cold nights. That is when I miss snuggling up with my hubby. We used to spend evenings just chatting and drinking hot chocolate and watching the old sad, sentimental movies together. Well I used to watch the movie while he fell asleep in his armchair. Now I find watching the movie by myself as he heads off to bed early isn't nearly as much fun. But I have to remember to be grateful for what I've got, which is much less of a burden than some others have to bear.