2025: Finding smiles in the chaos – navigating caring for parents, dementia, COPD, teenage step kids, one mischievous cocker spaniel, and way too much wool. Because we’re all just winging it really.
2010: There’s not enough smiling out there. It’s been said that I can make people smile (usually accidentally rather than intentionally) so I thought I’d try a new way to spread a smile. No airs, no graces, no pretensions. Just hopefully a 🙂
2024: Everything I wrote above 14 years ago (wow!) still stands. But life changes too, doesn’t it? And I’m hoping that so will the blog at this point. These are the ‘why’s’ now:
- To find smiles for you – the people reading – and for me.
- Because as a result of my Mum having a stroke and my Dad having advanced COPD and now being under the care of a hospice – and having to work out a lot of stuff around those things – I’ve realised that I now have a heap of practical knowledge I wish someone had pointed me in the direction of. And this might be a good place to share that so other people can benefit (tagging posts with the right details means that even people who have never landed here before will be able to find the information through the power of Google).
- Because I am a step mum to teenage boys who alternately make me proud to be part of their lives and make me want to throttle them. And at the start of my step mumming I was desperate for some sort of ‘I’ve been there too!’ stories. They have given their permission to talk about them here anonymously.
- Because there is no guide or manual to this part of life and we just land here one day and have to muddle through. I’m no expert but I might be able to guide a little through some of the muddle.
- To give myself an excuse to try some more things just ‘because it will make a good blog post’ (I’ve realised that phrase uttered under my breath gives me some sort of brave shield that I don’t otherwise have).
- And because writing gives me some sort of sanity. And I’m a therapist so sanity is kind of important. And it feels like this year has the potential to be one of the more tricky ones…
I hope you find smiles and support and sanity in my posts. I hope I do too…
the pog blog 
I have had trich for 8 years and just began to seriously consider sharing about it. I’ve only read a few of your posts but I already feel like I know you! You are so brave and I am so proud of your accomplishments! They give me hope. Thank you for sharing :)
Thank you for stopping by and for your kind words Juliana. I am so pleased you got some hope from me…and if I can do it, you can too :o)