But its now more like the house is at anchor, rather than in the storm as earlier in the week. I can strongly recommend not having labyrinthitis. My doctor tells me it can be another few weeks for the remaining swimmy symptoms to go away, so I’m trying to get on with things, although doing home ed with my son uses up most of my energy, and these passing waves are not helping – everything is still going up and down, and I have to lie down now and then just to get a break.
Talking of home ed, the doctor had another doctor in with them, whom I was instructed to ignore as he was ‘observing’. Whatever. Anyhow, he pipes up at the end if he could ask me about home education and how it works. Well, this wasn’t the best of times, but I am fairly used to the question – people are always asking me about home ed. – most don’t seem to realise that it is legal, let alone how it works. But that was not what he meant.. he was asking how I provided an education when I am ill. This is the first time I have had this experience – many times I have read on various forums about health professionals etc questioning H.E. provision, and how they are spying etc.. and to be honest I felt they were being a tad paranoid, as I have only had support so far. But the way he asked.. the tone of his voice.. no – it did not just feel like idle curiosity, or even pondering if they could do this for their child, as usually the questioners are.. this felt like spying. This felt like the wrong answer would get written down somewhere..
So, despite having trouble staying upright, and clutching my secret cardboard kidney bowl in a plastic bag, (just in case), and feeling decidedly rough and a fair bit depressed as I had just been told I could be feeling kak for some weeks (and for some poor souls, it never improves), and that they could only treat the symptoms, with sea sickness tablets, which yes make you very drowsy… I took a deep breath, and calmly explained that although I educate my son, I don’t need to be breathing down his neck for every minute, I can set him tasks to do, and he gets on with them, just as he was whilst I was at the doctors (and obviously he gets far more individual attention than the average school child). I explained that a lot of my effort goes into preparation and planning, and I have already done a lot of that, I explained that he had plenty of work to do, and as he is a teenager, capable of getting on with it, furthermore, with his ASD traits, unwilling to stray from the plan. I then added that if necessary, I could ask my Mum to come and fetch my son and cover the education.
I managed not to say ‘mind your own business’ – I probably should have.. but hey, I was ill, and not thinking straight…
