What a few months it has been with a whirlwind of emotions that I was definitely not expecting.
Our Hive has become a strong unit of carers, supporting and helping one another in all aspects of life and that is something that I am incredibly proud of. More importantly, our children have become friends, enjoying time together at events or sleepovers, it really is just like an extended family.
As a Hive, we have had a lovely few months getting to know each other, we meet regularly for coffee mornings and tend to take it in turns to host. We have organised localised first aid training at a time that suited everyone with day care provided for those who needed it, a Body Shop party for the grown-ups and even a disco organised by a family within the Hive which really brought everyone together and was enjoyed by all!
We’ve had to help each other through some tough times which as carers we are used to, but it doesn’t get any easier. Moving children on is a whirlwind of emotions and we’ve had one of our little ones move on to adoption this month. The support that this little boy has had from the families in the Hive has ensured he will have a successful future ahead of him with his forever family. One of our families has also suffered a bereavement. As a Hive we have rallied around to help make the family feel as much support as possible at this very difficult time. It has made us all realise how lucky we are to have loved ones nearby.
Sadly, our Christmas social event had to be cancelled due to the dreaded Covid, but we look forward to rearranging this in the New Year when we will hopefully be less at risk.
Covid continues to disrupt our day-to-day lives, we’re unable to see family and friends, unable to go about day-to-day life as normal, our children unable to go to school, suffering with the symptoms if we have been unlucky enough to contract the virus. I can only hope that our families within the Hive have reaped the benefits of the support that we have in place, doing those essential bits of shopping, helping with the school runs and simply caring.
The number of Hives continue to grow and thrive. We welcome Denise and Cloe to the team, two very experienced carers who bring a lot to the table; we cannot wait to get to know them more as the weeks progress and they start to welcome their own families into their hives. Good luck to them on their new venture and I can only hope that their families are as inspiring as the families that I have the opportunity to work with.
So here we are, coming into Christmas and preparing to spend time with our loved ones that some so desperately missed last year. Enjoy every moment!
I would like to take this opportunity to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Stay safe.