Damn those scales!

It's a month since he was last weighed and he's continuing to very gradually put on weight. Now, to you and me, that's a Good Thing. It's a blooming BRILLIANT thing. But - surprise, surprise - it's not Good News to Ben.

This is what I said in Tesco's car park yesterday...

So this is what I said to Ben as we walked from the car to Tesco's supermarket yesterday...

Clocking up more successes...

Good news - Ben did go to his Warhammer gaming club last night and enjoyed it. (And then came home for a plateful of M&S fish'n'chips with peas followed by 2 puddings.) Today he's talking to a local museum about volunteering. Then tomorrow evening he's going to see one of his friend's bands in the city centre. Meanwhile we've arranged to see a former CAMHS (eating disorder specialist) psychologist next week to tidy up all the loose ends.

Points are still winning prizes!

Ben says that the #1 thing that helped him the most over the last 18 months or so has been the Recovery Contract which we set up in March 2011. And, albeit much tweaked over the months, it's still going strong - at Ben's request. We don't do it as often... maybe once a week at the most... but it's still proving to be useful.

Woo hoo! It's what makes this all worthwhile...

It's fantastic when I get an email or message from a parent of a young person with an eating disorder, or the young person themselves, about how my blog and / or website have contributed in some way towards their recovery from anorexia or another ED. I'm not saying this to boast. Not in the slightest! It's just that this kind of message makes my day, especially when I'm not feeling very motivated or a bit down.

Jobs, voluntary work and social activities...

Ben's doing really well with setting up activities for his impromptu gap year. This morning was the second Tuesday morning he helped out at school, doing a bit of teaching practice with the sixth form history and politics groups and loving every minute.

Driving to a strangely familiar place...

Ben's been in touch with his school to see if they need any help over the coming year - and today he's gone in to lend a hand. So it was kind of strange driving back to the old place with Ben dressed in his sixth form suit, just like last year. Except it wasn't just like last year...