Well hello

It’s me, not Ben, I changed the title of this blog for Ben, now I’ve finally managed to set up his own blog but I’m sticking with Downs my way for mine.

It’s been an interesting year, some difficult months but now we are back to living joyfully and abundantly. We’re blessed to have been supported by some amazing people, both friends and professionals. 

Ben is now happily back at his groups at  Down Syndrome Cheshire and has enjoyed some lovely days with his support worker  Sarah.. He’s had another exciting trip to London representing the National Down  Syndrome Policy Group in the company of the amazing Julie Duff.

His dream was to establish himself on social media platforms to advocate for people with Down  Syndrome of all ages. With my support and the technical expertise of the staff and volunteers at  Down  Syndrome Cheshire he now has a Facebook, Instagram and YouTube profile and his own blog. 

I am reminded that dark days don’t last for ever and good things can come out of hard times. We’ll both be trying to build a regular routine of sharing our adventures (and mishaps!) At the moment we are unable to share photos but all being well we will solve this problem (with help)

I’m testing fonts so if you find this one annoying or difficult to read just let me know. Baby steps!

 

 Testing estimate testing

Teamwork makes the dream work!

Test 2! I’ve changed the name of my blog but I’m not sure if it’s done the trick

Ben is Back

 Hello! It’s been a very long time but me and Mum have had a lot of problems trying to get me back on my blog. This is a little test to see if it works.☀

We can’t get pictures yet but Mum says we’ll keep trying if this first bit works.

Fingers crossed👍

Ben

Well, it's the second week in January 2025!, how has that happened? I seem to have had a sleep on Christmas Eve and woken up in January. Ben and I have had a lovely if quiet Christmas, we also had our usual in bed before midnight on New Year's Eve. Surprisingly we weren't kept awake by endless fireworks, something to be grateful for!

We actually haven't been out since last Saturday choosing to stay at home in the warm. what with torrential rain, gales, snow, sleet and ice (and every variable in between) we've chosen to enjoy reading, playing games journaling, crafting and binge watching some lovely box sets on TV. 

Shortly before Christmas we had new neighbours move into the apartment next door, we have already become good friends and have enjoyed several visits next door for coffee, cake and chats. Ben is really looking forward to his groups starting again at the DSC Hub in Northwich, this weeks session was cancelled because of the awful weather conditions.

 As you may have already deduced i have not much of great import to share in this blog, to be entirely honest I am trying to get to grips with my somewhat updated laptop and break through the barrier preventing me from putting words on a page. This year we chose not to make new year "revolutions" as Ben calls them, or set ridiculous and usually unattainable challenges. We felt led to a word to lead us through this year, "enJOY", we are going to consciously and intentionally look for the joy in the every day,  the mundane, the little daily miracles that we so often miss in the hustle and bustle of life. then we are going to enjoy them and put them in a JOY JAR..

Sunrises, sunsets, cloud formations the first buds bursting through, that first cup of coffee, an unexpected message from a friend, a delicious meal, the feel of clean sheets, a hot shower...so many "little" things that we can so easily take for granted. Let's face it, we are living in turbulent, worrying, frightening, even dangerous times, there seems to be a never ending cycle of bad news so lets, when we can, stop, take pause and hold tight to the little moments of beauty, love and hope.

My prayer is for us all to find shelter in the small moments, to find moments of peace and hope, and in these moments to find the strength to stand against the darkness that sometimes feels overwhelming