That was 2011...

I spent all of 2011 trying to get used to the fact my Dad was no longer around, having died suddenly in November 2010. It’s taken a lot of getting used to, and although I’m not altogether resolved to it, I don’t seem to be constantly reminding myself of his absence.  It’s been a long time since I lost a family member, and I definitely wasn’t prepared for Dad to go, even though he’d been ill for a number of years. He was only 65, after all.

Dad and Alex, not long before Dad died. They got on extremely well!

 Although I was literally incoherent with grief – after being bizarrely calm while my poor brother Damian was breaking the news to me – my awesome friends, Karen and Steve, came and collected me and my furkids, and looked after me for several days while I processed the news.

As Dad lived in the UK, and I am in Australia, I couldn’t be there for my family, and I wasn’t able to attend his funeral. However, I was in constant touch with my siblings, and my Mum (who was über supportive, even though she and Dad have been divorced for decades), and was able to follow the process, and was sent photos of the funeral, including one of my baby nephew looking at all the flowers.

I started out the year unemployed, via another trauma that happened about a week before Dad died. Fortunately, my Mum and Step-Dad had been visiting, over from Scotland, and I started out 2011 with family.

January 2011 was of course the Qld Floods. Once I had finally been convinced that New Farm could and would be flooded, I removed myself, Dexter and Freddy to Hotel KaznSteve in Capalaba before anything happened, where I was looked after with other flood evacuees, and made the most out of a tricky situation. I watched the progress of the flood via Twitter, finding photos of my street and my unit, with water up to here, and no news of when it would be safe to go home. It took 8 days for the water to go down, and I was greatly relieved to find that although the water had come within a metre or so of my door, my place had not been inundated. The only damage was to the contents of my fridge.

During this time, I turned 40. It wasn’t my best birthday, not really because of the supposed milestone, but just because it was a difficult time.

February holds few memories, other than being unable to find employment. My disability and the physical and attitudinal inaccessibility of many workplaces meant that, despite my considerable qualifications and experience – or perhaps because of it – I rarely got an interview, and those interviews I did have didn’t lead to employment.

So I applied to QUT to do my Post-Grad Diploma in education. It seemed to be an ideal opportunity to change professional direction, and I couldn’t lose anything in the attempt.

In March I got some temporary work with a former employer, and had a great time reconnecting with former colleagues and meeting new ones. I was organising recreation activities for people with a disability, and enjoyed it immensely. Getting paid for working was an added bonus! During this time I was accepted into uni, and I continued working up until a few days before O-week in July.

Uni hit me like a truck. From July until the end of November, where I collapsed in a heap and got sick, I was constantly behind and playing catch-up. In the end I managed to pass two of four units, which I considered a positive achievement, but it left me two to re-do.

Since uni ended, I’ve been at a bit of a loose end. Some people might love the idea of having four months off, but it didn’t appeal to me. Far too much time on my hands! I have been knitting, and doing flea markets (for extra cash; Austudy doesn’t go very far), reading, watching DVDs, hanging with friends, fighting with my refrigerator, battling cockroaches and mould, reading some more, and trying to improve my health. 

That last part isn’t going very well, although I still have about two months before I go back to classes. I have a plan in which I will be physically, and hopefully mentally, prepared for this semester, so I won’t spend the first two weeks or so just trying to stay awake. I have signed up for the 1 Million Kilos Challenge, and am trying to get myself back into swimming regularly. Now that I am into my 40s, I have become more concerned about my heart health, as heart disease is rife on my Dad’s side of the family (did I tell you he died of a heart attack?).

2012 is my year of becoming a teacher. Everything else, even my beloved Boccia, is on hold, so I can concentrate on doing well with my studies.  As I am looking at doing my one-year diploma over 18 months, I will be at uni until November again, hopefully with a fistful of 7s and diploma at the end of it. Wish me luck!