Pages

When you make a conscious choice to be happy, no one can take it away from you because no one gave it to you: you gave it to yourself.

A quote from April Green's - Bloom For Yourself Journal

Wednesday 19 October 2016

WOYWW 385 - apologies for my absence

Apologies gentle desk dashers for my absence. These last few weeks have been a whirlwind of rest, birthday celebrations and awards. 

So firstly I'll share my desk and then I'll share a few pics from some amazing wonderful moments that we've had of late.

 That there pile is my efforts of Christmas card making. A simple design that I stamp and change by using different colour washi tape. You can see a skeleton design on the top. I've tweaked and improved it since.
 Blazing sunshine this morning. 

So Keagan turned 18 on the 6th October. He booked some time off work so he could come home. We had a lovely day spent with family and friends. We went out for a family meal in the evening where at the end my brother, Danny, exclaimed that it had been the most soberist 18th he had ever celebrated!! (Keagan enjoys the odd drink but doesn't like to go mad, unlike my brother!)

I bought Keagan 18 presents which included a birthday balloon and every present reflected hobbies & things he likes. I spent hours trying to find the right gifts without spending an absolute fortune. I managed it in the end much to Keagan's amusement. There was a travel mug with 'Keep calm & race pigeons' on it, a Tour De France t-shirt, a Level 18 complete gaming t-shirt, a WWE PS4 game, Bristol Rovers gifts & Liverpool Fc socks plus his favourite biscuits & sweets to name some of his presents.

 The word art I designed & framed.
 The 'let's embarrass birthday boy with a cake in front of all the pub' moment complete with birthday song!
Keagan was rather amused by his balloon!
The 'we have to take a photo' moment at the end of the night!
 
So that's the birthday now onto something I'm absolutely bursting with pride about. On Fri 14th Oct we attended Banes Carer's Centre annual awards that were presented by Ali Vowles (BBC Points West and Radio Bristol). Now we knew a couple of weeks in advance but it didn't stop me feeling so very proud of my boy.
 
Keagan was presented with Banes Young Carer's Sporting Achievement award to honour his amazing achievements to date. He was very chilled about it saying
'It's just my job, it's what I do'
Now we all know how hard Keagan has worked to just get where he is now, and we know there's still many many years of hard work to come. In case you missed it, in the last year Keagan has attended The British Racing School in Newmarket (the best horse racing college in the world) & now works & is continuing his BRS education at Jeremy Scott Racing where he is working hard to prove himself with the plan to eventually get his jockey licence.
 
We both hope Keagan's story will inspire other younger young carers to chase their own dreams. To realise that you can chase and achieve them.
 
Here's some pics from that wonderful evening - 
 Keagan receiving his award
 
 Me and Ali
 I think you can clearly see how much I was bursting with pride right here in this photo!
 
Right sorry for the long post but I wanted to share what's been keeping me busy. Inbetween I've not been well so have rested on my bed most days - this has allowed me to just be able to enjoy what's happened.
Pop over to Julia's WOYWW
to join in and link up.
 
Take care Zo xx



 

22 comments:

Anonymous said...

Happy WOYWW. You have had such a wonderful few weeks. I have been following your photos on Facebook. No wonder you are so proud. Great idea to use washi tape on your Xmas cards. That could be a way for me to make some quick cards. I am sure I have some Xmas washi tape in my stash box. Ali x #27

shazsilverwolf said...

Hi Zoe, lovely to 'see' you back. Glad you are well. How wonderful for Keegan, no wonder you are so proud of him. What a fantastic young man he has turned out to be, and you should indeed be proud of playing a part in that. Have a great week, Hugs, Shaz #4 xxx

Zsuzsa Karoly-Smith said...

Wow, your son is a good head taller than you! What an amazing young man - I totally recognized the Points West presenter. Happy WOYWW! zsuzsa #22

Neet said...

Good to have you back on WOYWW and sharing some of the moments you two have had over the past few months.
I have kept up with most of them via Facebook and was particularly pleased to read about your son's achievement with regards to his being your carer. You have every right to be so very proud of him. That and his horse racing must have you simply bursting with pride.
Hugs, Neet 2 xx

glitterandglue said...

Hi Zoe. What an absolutely beautiful post. A wonderful award for a very special young man. Congratulations Keagan!!! Your son is a lovely young man - you must be so proud of him. Well done the pair of you!!!
Take care. God bless.
Margaret #6

okienurse said...

Awesome post Zoe! I am so happy for you and for Keagan and his recognition at such a young age of what it takes to get ahead in what he wants to do! Happy Birthday Keagan! Have a great week. Vickie #11

Helen said...

this has been such a great post to read, Zoe. I know I knew about the events from facebook, but you are bursting with motherly pride and rightly so. Go Keagan!! Helen #1

Chidkid said...

It's a patents job to embarrass our offspring. Loving the look of the Christmas cards. Happy WOYWW. Elaine no. 16

Anne said...

How lovely. Congrats to your son on his 18th and his wonderful award. Also to you - what a wonderful young man you have raised. Happy WOYWW Anne x #23

Bernice said...

You've had a busy time with all those celebrations over the last few weeks! - no wonder you haven't had time for blogging. Congratulations to your son on his special birthday and achievements.
Bernic

Sharon said...

Happy WOYWW. Sounds like you managed to create a unique birthday - including all those special, hand-picked gifts. Congrats to Keegan on his award. You must be so proud!

Sharon K #34

Heather said...

How exciting!! Have a great week! Heather (waywardgypsy) #50? #51?

pearshapedcrafting said...

What treat of a post Zoe and once again Well Done Keagan! Do take care and rest up when you can! Big Hugs, Chrisx

April said...

What a great achievement! You should be so proud. What a great son.

April #39

sandra de said...

Now that is such a beautiful post and such lovely pics of a very happy 18th. Have a great week.
sandra de @28

Lynne Mizera said...


Ali what a lovely, lovely post you created! Congratulations on all your celebrations and thanks for sharing your magnificent young man with all of us. Smile Thanks for the visit earlier and Happy WOYWW from Lynne in Canada (#3)

CraftyHope said...

First off, wishing you the best with the card-making!

Now, what a fabulous birthday celebration and award. It sounds like you've raised a young man not afraid to go after his dreams. Well done!!
Hope #45

Felix the Crafty Cat said...

Lovely post, sounds like you've been busy. Happy belated woyww, Angela x 17

Lunch Lady Jan said...

Although I've seen this on FB, it's so lovely to revisit it again. What a month you and Keagan have had, it's just wonderful to see a fantastic young man getting the recognition he deserves :-D
Hugs, LLJ 10 xxxx

SusanLotus said...

I like your sunny corner!
Cozy place to create in.
And a great collection of markers.

Happy creative week!
Late visiting,
SusanLotus nr 32, WOYWW.

Kyla said...

Loved seeing your FB updates, it was well deserved and a great reason to be a proud mum and embarrass him at every oppotunity :-)

Morti said...

Such an awesome couple of weeks, eh, Zoe? You have every right to be proud of Keagan, and his extended family - us WOYWWers - are proud too!

I'm idiotically late getting here this week so don't be surprised if you see me again tomorrow!

Morti @ 40