Final Day - Mental Health Awareness Week (24/05/20)

Being the final day of MHAW I wanted to share a story from a little while back in lockdown which I shared with my Family WhatsApp group as Inspiration. Both my mum and Auntie worked for many years in childcare as had I, so this particular story resonated with us. The news heading read 'Budding Bobby receives Dream Police Visit'.

The story from the West Midlands Police website describes how a young boy with aspirations of being a Police Officer when he grows up has been thanked for raising spirits during lockdown. Young Louis Owen (4) from Coventry, has a toy Police Motorbike and dress up costume so really looks the part. In order to adopt the role completely he has made rainbow pictures for elderly neighbours and has been checking that they are all well. When local Police officers in the West Midlands found out about Louis' efforts in the community, one kind officer decided to stop by during his patrols. Louis was thrilled to be treated to such a special visit and loved the opportunity to compare his bike with the real thing! The officer was delighted to display one of Louis' rainbows on the front of his bike and Louis has been offered the chance to visit the Station for a look around when the lockdown is over and it is safe to do so. I couldn't help thinking what a wonderful gesture from Sgt Mitch Derby to take the time to do this. A small gesture of kindness maybe, but when Police and Firefighters take time out to engage with little ones, they really are inspiring the next generation. I've no doubt this will lead to a life-long dream to join the Emergency Services for Louis and these memories will stay with him forever. A very thoughtful little boy; a beautiful story.

In a similar vein the BBC News reported how Theo Jenkins (3) has been making deliveries to his neighbours in Llanelli, Wales using his toy lorry! He has also visited care homes and key workers in his lorry which has a rainbow picture attached to the front. His parents say he doesn't like people being sad and wanted to make them smile. The toy lorry was stocked up with crisps, cakes, chocolates and biscuits and their were smiles and giggles all round when he was making his deliveries. What a lovely idea and a very kind boy indeed.

Great fun too. My son would be delighted if he had a toy lorry to drive! (It is one of his big wish list items) He has been watching YouTube videos of these kinds of vehicles for the past 12 months or so (I'm not sure if they make them big enough for 8 year olds!) but this is the first time I've heard of one being used for such vital work...Well done Theo and his lovely parents for encouraging and supporting such a kind and thoughtful idea.

One of the other major areas to have seen a huge surge of uptake in lockdown is sewing, not least because the NHS have been so desperate for PPE, Scrubs and face masks! There are countless tales of initiatives started up by sewing groups and friends who have pulled together to get creative and provide the necessary equipment to ensure our frontline workers are protected. I particularly liked the stories about scrubs being created in an array of vibrant colours and fabrics which have put smiles on many faces and also the creative midwife, Vicki Hill who came up with the idea of washable uniform bags to reduce the number of plastic bags being used and disposed of after hospital shifts. With the support of her colleagues at Heartland's Hospital, Birmingham, they also designed a headband with buttons on which reduces the irritation caused behind the ears by their face masks. By hooking masks onto buttons rather than around their ears, staff are no longer suffering with sores. Within weeks a team of volunteers had evolved and were busy making these items during lockdown with over 6000 items made and distributed as of 23/04/20 (BBC News).

Purely by chance, as I continue to sort through and tidy my art 'stuff' today I found a pile of small card cut outs that E and F had made last year sometime when they decided they wanted to do some 'Random acts of kindness' I'm not sure we ever did any (other than donating to charity) which makes me feel sad but I am so pleased to have found them today on this last day of MHAW - Kindness. I hope to be able to support the children in getting some of these acts done in the coming weeks and being as they were written on green card, I might add some of them into my Green collage whenever that gets underway.

I was feeling particularly sad this morning and chose a 'Yoga for Grief' to see if that could help get me more prepared for the day. It was gentle and exactly what I needed. This evening I did 'Yoga for Neck and Shoulder Relief' which I thought might relieve some of the tension I still felt but actually for some reason it caused a resurfacing of the emotions and I became tearful again...not ideal but Adriene always says to accept any emotion that comes up and that it is normal sometimes in yoga, so it happened and I am okay with it. Tomorrow is another day and I look forward to feeling more balanced and brighter generally.

(Just as a little insight into my thoughts and actions on here...being an incredibly private, introverted INFJ personality, I don't find it easy to explain a great deal about WHY I feel the way I do sometimes. It doesn't mean I don't want to talk about things or that I don't need to but I care about protecting my privacy and the feelings of other people in my life who have added to my distress either inadvertently or willfully. What I may do is share quotes that sum up or highlight some of what has happened or why I feel the way I do, but it would always be without explanation. You may have to do your own detective work if you are looking to discover meaning, haha! Good luck...)