bettina-blog-post-today-we-go-againAs I type this post I can hear a knock on a bedroom door upstairs.  A voice says “come in Mum”, the door opens and then I hear giggling from Joyce and Bettina.  It is the same exchange I hear each morning.  Joyce is taking Bettina’s meds up to her and Bettina is ready to start a new day with a laugh and a smile.  Today Bettina “goes again”.

When it comes to adversity, Bettina overcomes it.  When it comes to courage, Bettina has it in buckets.  When it comes to a challenge then Bettina faces it down.  We have been on a (nearly) 30 year journey together of love, fun, inspiration and, it must be said, ‘worry’ about how she is feeling about her world.

If you have read any of my other posts about Bettina, you will have quickly realised that she is inspirational to her parents and big sister.  The way she fights to understand what you are communicating, whilst striving to understand her world, means that all the stuff we take for granted can be intensively difficult for Bettina, but that is not going to stop her adapting and overcoming.

One of the many lessons she has taught me, that I strive to include in my life, is that no matter what has gone on in her world the day before, when she wakes up to Joyce’s knock on her bedroom door she is ready  ‘to go again’

So what does it mean ‘Today We Go Again’ and how have I incorporated Bettina’s behaviours and attitudes into the start of every day:

Bettina’s daily Five

  1. Bettina practices mindfulness and this is what she does: https://leadershipintheraw.org/2016/03/10/being-bettinas-dad-bettina-transforming-my-life-with-mindfulness/
  2. She works through her personal routine, from the moment Bettina allows Joyce to come into her bedroom
  3. Bettina starts her day with a smile at the first person she sees, this gives her a positive outlook (and she carries on smiling at each person she meets)
  4. Bettina looks forward not backward. Bettina is only interested in what is coming next and what she needs to do.  ‘Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, and today is a gift’ that quote could have been written just for Bettina
  5. Getting organised the night before so she hits the ground running the moment she comes out of her bedroom. It’s part of her routine which means a lot to her.  Bettina wants to crack on with her new day.

What I have taken from Bettina’s we go again each morning and what I remind myself to do are:

  1. Yesterday was tough, it was a challenge and stuff went wrong, but today is a new day and there are going to be lots of opportunities for success
  2. It is an opportunity to reinvent myself and my situations to do something new and get the things I have been meaning to do accomplished
  3. Who will I meet today? Who will walk through the door that might change my perspective? I think about this for at least 10 minutes before I get out of bed.  I have a feeling this is what Bettina does
  4. Have something to look forward to just like Bettina does. No matter what difficult meeting or long journey I have to make (usually to get to that meeting) I have built something in there that is going to be fun and something I enjoy.
  5. Start with momentum – get moving – keep moving forward.

I am just coming towards the end of this post and Bettina is coming down the stairs and, as always, she goes into the sitting room to double to check the contents of her bag again, running through her mental checklist, ensuring she has all the things she needs for her day.  She looks at me with her engaging smile and says ‘Hello Dad’ and tells me what she is going to do today with her Personal Assistant,  Donna, finishing off with “Great Fun”  and that’s what I am also going to do, I am going to have fun.

As always, thank you Bettina because together we “go again”.