Finally, An Update!

My last update was six months ago. It's been so busy!

I started college studying theology in September. Anyone who knows me knows that I'm a Christian who questions a lot of "religion.".

Always hard. I'm a Christian, but I'm not a Christian who aligns with a religious organisation. Despite attending and taking on official roles at a CoE church.

It's difficult. What is written [in the Bible], what is then said within religious organisations, and what is then presented can vary. To the extent that each church, despite supporting a religious organisation, has different practises that align through acts, practises, and community/congregational evangelism preached independently amongst sister churches under the same.

Each member of the church and community then adopts the following beliefs: Yet, each person could read a different translation and believe something else. Most Christians believe all words, regardless of translation, are "God Breathed". That's wrong. The writing was intended for a community-based readership that recognised the significant distinctions in the textual phraseology of that time and community. Language shifts. What once meant one thing doesn't mean the same now..

Spastic illustrates this. What was once a condition name is now an insult. Would someone in a thousand years read this on a 1980 paper and then on a 2020 document and understand the nuanced difference? Would that now mean anything else?

Thus, a strict definition of something isn't necessarily what it means. Educate and challenge: Enter Martyn and his "troublemaking ways".

I hope that you can see why a theology course would be right up my alley! It's mostly all online and independent, and, although challenging mentally and physically, I'm really enjoying it and even, to some extent, thriving.

A lot has changed for the kids.

In one of my last posts, I spoke about Will starting a new school aimed at his autism and additional needs after being homeschooled for years. All that worry, stress, upset, and nerves... for nothing!

He is amazing and thriving more and more! We always hear about how amazing our son is! (Which, of course, we already knew!) So much that it literally makes me proud of the young man he's become.

 

Midge is doing well and plodding along. The thing I LOVE about her is that, despite knowing and understanding that she's my stepdaughter, she is my daughter through and through. Her personality, humour, and even her slightly darker humour are like mine. Again, it makes me super proud of the young woman she is.

Of course there's always the difficulty with what she feels and thinks regarding her bio-dad, but for now I appreciate her for herself and not what he's losing out on. He'll regret it one day, but that's not my problem. We've done what we can to open his eyes.

We've had some trouble with A. For the start, it was good. He seemed to do well in secondary school. However, as suspected, his slightly nefarious school behaviour appeared. Yet, with a bit of fighting from our side (as is always the case), a further diagnosis for him has come out (which is a massive "I told you so" moment for us), but we're hopeful that with the right help, he'll settle better not only at school but in himself.

The biggest change to happen is probably with the one child we didn't worry about, James.

 

He really didn't settle into secondary school. It was an hour and 45 minutes on the bus every morning. Which was horrid. An all-boys school that's rough and, although trying to fight against it, breeds a lot of negative actions. We tried to fight and help, and although I feel the school tried, they didn't do enough. So much so that he was an emotional wreck. Leaving him a bit resentful and angry at times.

After some consideration and a push from his Mum, we pulled him out and started homeschooling him. However, I'd like to note that it's not us doing the majority this time. That's on his Mum and his stepdad (who has a greater understanding of secondary level education than myself). For me, I didn't want to make the same mistakes with James at school as I once did with Will. I think if we had left it any longer, that would have been the case. Since leaving, he has changed. Not fully, but not that kid either. Notwithstanding, James will be entering a STEM school soon, so I'm hoping that Secondary School Part 2 will be better for him.

Finally, on to my absolute beauty, Hannah. Hannah is always Hannah. Amazing and brilliant in her normal ways, as anyone who follows her on social media knows. Other than dragging A to football matches and practises 2 or 3 times a week, she's just the same. I do think her greatest achievement in these last months is her driving. She's come a long way since I taught her how to navigate a carpark or get from point A to point B. After she was more confident, she found an instructor and should be taking her test shortly.

Finally, when are we getting married? I'm sure many have asked. Well, the reality is that between Dad passing last year and the way the financial situation is in the country, we just couldn't afford it this year. We are, however, hopeful that next year is the year. We've even set a date! April 20th ❤️

 

I think that covers us. I'm not sure if I'll keep up like I used to, but I still love writing and documenting what's going on. Even if it's staggered across multiple posts and gaps.

Much love as always.