Heavenly Beverley : An Eventful Few Days

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away...I was expecting Alex, our autistic superstar. This pregnancy was Not Planned. The ex and I already had Vanessa and Callum, after a series of obstetric misadventures. Neither of us took the ultimate step to prevent another baby. The result was Alex.

I was secretly thrilled. This was going to be the baby who would cause me no trouble, be a bonus to the other two children. I ventured the idea to my GP that I could deliver in a suburban hospital. After he stopped laughing, he referred me to King Edward Memorial Hospital, the major women's hospital in Perth. For women like me...

Waiting for the ante-natal clinic one day, I was approached by a research assistant and asked if I wanted to be part of a longitudinal study, following babies born in 1989 - 1992 until adulthood. In for a penny, in for a pound. Why not?

The Raine Study has been a small, but significant part of Alex's life. He's been measured, poked, tested and watched for all of his almost twenty-five years. We've filled in countless questionnaires and attended multiple appointments.

Then came a phone call out of the blue. Would I participate in a sleep study? All of the Raine Study parents were being asked. I so didn't want to do this. Any night away from home is a major logistical exercise.So I threw obstacles. They would have to accommodate Michael. No problem. What about food? They would feed us. The enthusiastic booking officer insisted we could follow our normal evening routine. Which included vino. Bring your wine with you, she said.

I agreed. We organised our wonderful friend, Larissa to dog sit and house sit. We arranged to meet Callum for an early lunch, go to the movies in the afternoon and then arrive at the sleep study. We decided to treat this as a mini holiday.

Tuesday started badly. The Beagle brought pooh into the laundry and smeared it all over the floor. Give me strength. We left, more or less, on time and headed down West Talbot Road. We had completely forgotten the road was closed for bridgeworks. Bugger.

We backtracked to York and turned onto the Perth road. No speed signs. Michael was doing 70. The police lights caught us by surprise. Speeding fine. Not knowing the speed limit was legitimate but not lawful. $100 fine. Ouch...

Onward and upward. We met Callum without further incident. Lunch was enjoyed and our conversation was witty and lively. We chose a couple of bottle of vino for the evening. Callum was determined to educate me in the intricacies of depositing cash through an ATM. I reluctantly agreed to the lesson. Two days later, the money has still not appeared in our account....

Onto the picture theatre. Next disaster. The phone message had lied. Our desired movie was not going to be showing at the advertised time. We now had two hours to kill on a very hot afternoon. *sigh*

We drove down to the foreshore at Matilda Bay. I was tempted to have a nap. Instead, we had a drink each and read the paper. At four o'clock, we headed for the sleep study half an hour early.

The air-conditioning was incredibly welcome. We brought in our gear. First unpleasant surprise. I could not drink any alcohol. So much for my normal evening routine. There was no television. And I was not permitted to use my computer. Also part of my normal evening routine.

I was coping with these rules. After all, this was a research project. I was proud to be participating. A full body scan, eye testing and photographing and sensory testing followed. Then came the last test. A cognitive test that was lightly mentioned to be difficult.

I was asked how I was feeling prior to the test. Odd...

The test was horrible. I have difficulties with memory testing and this reduced me to tears. My self-esteem shot to zero. I was ready to bail. Michael and Vanessa were the only reasons I persevered. Dinner, then being wired for sound. My skin was scrubbed where the sensors would be placed. then alcohol was applied, which stung. The tubes around my ears were too tight. Come two o'clock in the morning, these had to be moved due to rubbing and pain.

An awful night. The computer calculated I slept about fifty percent of the time I was in bed. I was shattered in the morning. I gave blood and lots of feedback.

The day improved as soon as we left the sleep study premises. I had a message from Radio West requesting an interview about our East End Gallery. We collected barfy burgers, pigs' ears and chicken tenders from Pet Meat supplies and went to catch our movie. Hopefully.

Eureka. We were in the Greater Union theatre in Morley at ten o'clock. "The Force Awakens" was two hours of total escapism. We loved every second of it.

Fuel, vino and Bunnings. We stopped to look at the house Michael built in Darlington. I persuaded Michael to join me to go to the front door. Ronna, the homeowner, allowed us to come inside. The house was an echo of Michael. There were some brilliant features. But most of the house was no longer my husband. I was still pleased we'd seen it. Michael was able to put more ghosts to rest.

Home. Larissa and Shiloh to greet us. Enough food to feed the Fifth Battalion. Again. We gave her a bottle of champers as a thank-you present. She'd even prepared the House that Rocks for inspection and removed four dogs to the oval for half an hour. What a woman!

Dinner with Larissa and Mac. Silly DVD. Vino. I slept so well. Only woke at five o'clock to have a wee. That was my normal routine.

Lazy morning. Caught up with e-mails, Facebook and accounts. Arranged to meet with Kaz, a Voice of the Avon presenter at four o'clock. E-mailed Radio West in Merredin to set up an interview there about the gallery. Really excited.

House cleaning for several hours. Into the East End Gallery at four o'clock. We spent a very pleasant time showing Kaz the Gallery and organised an advertisement for Voice of the Avon. We sealed the agreement with a hug.

Tonight has been a treat. The heat of the day has gone. Larissa had provided leftovers for dinner. We have eaten chicken and salad and drunk beautiful vino. The dogs are fed, the cat is grouchy and the parrot has gone to sleep.

All is well in our world.