CARING FOR THE CARERS
CARERS from around the country joined together in Ballyvaloo Retreat Centre for a rare and much-appreciated bit of pampering as part of the ‘Caring for Carer’s’ weekend.
Hosted by the Wexford Lions Club, the third annual event saw 26 carers from Dublin, Kildare, Tipperary, Waterford, Wexford and Wicklow come together for a weekend of R and R. The guests were well looked after over the course of the two days, with Lions Clubs in each area sponsoring their guest’s stay.
Guests were greeted by Mayor Frank Staples, who acknowledged the role that carers play in our community and the work they do.
‘You take on a responsibility that doesn’t operate Monday to Friday, nine to five, but more often, a twenty four/seven role which can be very rewarding but also overwhelming at times,’ he said.
He thanked the Lions Club for their work throughout the year and their recognition of some of the most valuable people in our communities.
President of Wexford Lions Club Dan Redmond joined the Mayor in welcoming the guests and reminded them that the weekend was all about them.
‘You are often forgotten for the work you do. Wexford Lions Club is privileged to host this weekend for you,’ he said.
He went to thank the organising committee, headed by Lion Trina Barnes, and the club as a whole for the work put into organising the weekend.
The weekend was certainly all about the guests, as a host of activities were organised in their honour. Live music on Friday and Saturday night as well as presentations from an IT specialist and motivational speaker Bob Carley kicked off the weekend. Guests also enjoyed group and individual sessions with a reflexologist, beautician, fashion advisor and counsellor.
Throughout the weekend, the carers had the opportunity to swap stories about their own experience, which many agreed was a very positive and encouraging experience.
‘We were treated like dignitaries; it was such a happy time and will have an everlasting effect on all who attended,’ one of the guests told Wexford Lion’s Club in a post-weekend survey.
The Caring for Carer’s weekend is held in Sligo and Wexford on an annual basis, with Lions Clubs across the country sponsoring guests to attend. The next Wexford weekend will be in the autumn of 2017. This and similar events hosted by the Lions Club are provided for from public donations.
On behalf of the Caring for Carer’s guests, the Lions Club expressed their gratitude to everyone who donates to their local club, enabling them to continue to serve their local community. THE TEENAGER has just been freed after serving a five-year sentence with our local orthodontist. The treatment cost an arm and a leg as well as the odd kidney or two but now five long years later he has the most amazing set of gnashers ever seen on a 14-year-old Irish boy.
I’m showing him off everywhere I go. In the butchers the other day someone stopped to say hello. ‘ This is my son,’ I said, pushing him forward like an exhibit. ‘Look at his teeth. Aren’t they amazing?’
My son is of a generation who will take perfect teeth for granted. It’s just part of growing up as far as they’re concerned – a little blip on the landscape of adolescence. In my day, only the lucky ones got orthodontic treatment. I was one of the lucky ones but on discovering the opposite sex, threw my brace down the toilet, got walloped by my mother and ended up looking a bit like Janet Street Porter.
That wasn’t going to happen to My Boy. My Boy was going to have a killer smile – if it killed me, I decided when he was very young.
These days he has a tendency to lurk behind him whenever he is with me in public because obviously he wants to pretend he’s not with me, but since last week he hasn’t had a chance. I’ve been grabbing him by the arm and hissing at him to smile at complete strangers.
‘Will you stop doing that. I am NOT a performing bear,’ he informed me after I introduced him to a neighbour he’d never met before and made him smile for her. ‘No,’ I replied. ‘You are not a performing bear. But you’ve cost us a bloody fortune so I’m making sure I get my money’s worth.’
At a funeral I marched him up the aisle to meet his great aunts. ‘Show Aunty Betty, Aunty Pat and Aunty Mary your teeth.’ He obeys reluctantly to approving murmurs from the aunts. ‘ Oh. My. God. He’s gorgeous,’ they declared unanimously. The teenager nudges me to one side. ‘Right. That’s it. I’ve had enough. Stop telling people about my teeth and getting me to smile at random strangers. It’s weird.’ I’d had my fun so I agree to stop much to his relief.
An hour later in a local restaurant I notice that he’s beaming from ear to ear, showing off his Colgate smile like there’s no tomorrow. I follow his gaze and see a pretty girl about his own age smiling back at him from a nearby table.
My work here is done. It was worth every penny – even the kidney.