In case you missed the hint, Beth went to the zoo today!
Last week I asked on facebook if anybody knew of people who would be wanting a job taking Beth to social outings. She’s been quite ratty lately and part of it is because she’s probably bored, and part of it is because she wants me to do things with her ALL the time and I just can’t. Timewise or energy wise! I had several people respond and spoke to a few lovely ladies. One of them is a friend from school’s daughter Caitlyn. As another lady pointed out (Thanks Vicki!) it was probably best to have somebody who is a disability support worker because, things can get a bit unpredictable at times. Usually if Beth is happy it’s really cruisy. She’s good natured and easy to be around. But… if something happens, your average Joe may not know how to handle it. Somebody with experience is better at dealing with these times and knows what to do in difficult situations. So…. we met Caitlyn last week. And she’s wonderful! We do know that she is possibly not going to be Beth’s support worker for the whole time but she matches staff to the participants and will know what Beth wants. I particularly wanted somebody who is young so that instead of it being like a mum figure she’d be like a friend.
Today was the first outing they’ve been on and of course Beth chose the zoo! They just got home. Caitlyn said they saw about half of the zoo, so they’ll have to go back another time. They saw the elephants and even saw some behind the scenes things such as medications for some animals. I might even tee up a visit where they can properly go behind the scenes as I’m pretty sure they have those too. Beth loves it there and the bonus was that they had kfc for lunch, perfect for my girl!
Next week Beth has chosen the Van Gogh exhibition in the city. She’s making the most out of having a new friend to take her out! I’m so happy for her. And me! Here’s a photo of Beth and Caitlyn (and Maggie and Lola) before they went out today xx
