The next chapter..
I just wanted to jump on here again to share a couple of exciting updates after our "watch this space" conclusion, if any of you are still interested in following our lives (laughing face emoji!!). If you can remember the two main things we mentioned in that blog post, the first was our vision for some sort of "Be Kind, Neurodiverse, Home-education, Parent-Not-Toddler-Group/Cafe" (with a much punchier name). The second was our dream of helping Animal SOS Sri Lanka with a dog adoptions programme in the UK. Well, drumroll please... we've got updates on BOTH fronts! Between setting up new a new business, juggling work, home-educating the four kids, and attempting to maintain (or get back into) a semblance of normal life, I'm so pleased we've managed to squeeze in some time for these projects.
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Let's dive into our exciting first vision - the support ‘cafe’! We have managed to come up with a catchier new name - The Pause and Pour Cafe - and we've already held our first meet-up! This home cafe will hopefully be a haven for parents of neurodivergent kids, bringing together those who are facing the same challenges we did. Navigating the complexities of a neurodiverse child in the UK school system, dealing with the emotional hurdles of school refusal, and encountering barriers without many helpful solutions from schools or CAMHS can be overwhelming. And then, there's the unexpected journey you may find yourself on into home-education! Our mission is to break the isolation we felt as a family and connect other parents on this rollercoaster ride, fostering real, useful, and meaningful conversations and offering one another genuine support. We're not claiming to be experts or have any of the answers or relevant training; we're simply fellow parents, still navigating this journey and seeking support ourselves. We envision it as a place where we can all pause, share, lighten our loads, and find solutions together. And of course, enjoy a good old cup of tea and biscuits - the universal problem solvers!
We had our first meet this past Wednesday, and I’m thrilled to say that, even with just two days' notice, we had an amazing mix of parents show up! We had parents we've known forever, parents we met for the first time, and those we've exchanged smiles with on the school run every day for the past six years but never actually chatted with. There were parents of toddlers, primary and secondary aged kids, and parents of college students — it really was a place for everyone, and it exceeded all our expectations. Interestingly, one of the parents mentioned she’d been following our travels on Instagram, finding it difficult as a parent who was struggling, thinking, “What a great time they’re having, all these picture-perfect family moments.” She had no idea about the challenges that led us there. And that’s the crux of it, isn’t it? We never truly know what’s happening behind closed doors. We’ve been really open on the blog about our personal journey, but if you’ve only been following on Insta, it’s been doing its job as a highlight reel of all the good times, which, of course, isn’t a true reflection of real life. You never know who’s hiding behind that “I’ve got it all together” smile on the school run. And this is exactly what it’s all about - connecting people who didn’t even know they were connected!
If you haven't already, hop over to Instagram and give @pause_andpour a follow. Tucked away in our back garden in Liss, this cafe wears many different hats — from its days as a lively home pub to now more of a buzzing teenage hangout, also a dedicated home-tutoring zone, and now a cosy cafe! Come join us on the first Wednesday of every month with two time slots: 11am-1pm for the early birds and 7pm-9pm for the night owls. It's all free - we want you to feel like you're arriving at a friend's kitchen, having a good cuppa or coffee, and a chat, and leaving feeling a little lighter than when you arrived.
And there's more! I’ve already had members of the local community reaching out, including a local child and adolescent psychotherapist who is eager to host a 1-hour conscious parenting workshop one evening. I'm totally open to this if people think it will be helpful; we can shape this together into whatever we want or need it to be. We're incredibly thankful to anyone brave enough to join us — we know how challenging it can be to lower those fortress walls we build around ourselves to survive. If you, or someone you know, could use a little extra support, come join us or send them our way. Let's spread the love and build this much-needed community - we all need each other.
Here’s a picture of Lucky, our rescue hen, living her best life munching on cookies after trying to join us several times. It wasn’t just bourbons and custard creams as I’d planned - my lovely friend, Amy, baked these incredible sourdough chocolate chip cookies, and my mum, the banana cake queen, made a cake to add to the table for everyone. I don’t know if we’ll be so lucky at the next meet…!
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Now for our second update — this one's for all you dog lovers, especially those thinking about adding a rescue dog to your family! As you may know, we were absolutely captivated by Animal SOS in Sri Lanka. During our visit, we learned that most of the sanctuary dogs are ready for loving families, particularly the many young puppies that arrive abandoned. Unfortunately, finding enough suitable homes in Sri Lanka is a challenge. With over 2,500 dogs and the constant threat of closure, we felt compelled to make a positive impact from afar. The same week we returned home, Dan reached out to the founder, Kim Cooling, based in the UK, eager to discover how we could help. After chatting with Kim, we connected with Anu, their adoptions coordinator in the Netherlands. Anu and her partner, Luc, are already successfully finding homes for these lucky animals overseas and have dedicated immense effort to this cause over the past year. Just like us, they visited the sanctuary last year and went home with a new mission (and a dog in their luggage, which we promise we WON’T be doing) and have been busy volunteering ever since, alongside their full time jobs as doctors, successfully setting up their adoptions abroad programme. Their efforts have been a game-changer for the charity, and we are hoping to support and follow in their inspiring footsteps.
So, after a few exciting video calls, several early morning voice notes, and a flurry of WhatsApp messages, we are excited to announce that we've officially joined the team as their sole adoptions coordinators for the UK! We're eager to relocate these happy and healthy puppies from the sanctuary as soon as possible and find loving homes for more dogs with wonderful individuals and families in the UK. Our focus will be on the young, healthy pups aged six to eighteen months. These lovable pups have only been at the sanctuary for a short while, and some haven't even needed to stay in the main compound at all. They make sure to keep puppies separate for as long as possible to ensure they experience minimal trauma, away from all the invisible boundaries and territories in the main compound. Our mission is to choose puppies that will have a seamless adoption process, ensuring their journey to a new home is as successful as possible. This will free up donations and funds to support Animal SOS’s incredible daily missions—cooking massive amounts of food, providing essential veterinary care, caring for dogs with special needs, and continuing to treat animals that have been cruelly abused, carelessly run over, or left to die. We've got an amazing member of staff on the ground at the sanctuary who is basically part of our family now - we have chatted every week since we got back. She's absolutely dedicated to making the best choices for us - most definitely driven by love not money - she’s dedicated to help us find the perfect homes for as many as she can.
We fell in love with three in particular (*repeat to selves- we do not have enough room or time for them*), so are bringing them back, and are sponsoring five more to have their rabies titre tests to allow them to travel and be homed overseas. It is a complex process, involving flights, carriers, home visits, flight buddies, and all sorts of things, but we believe in it and want to give it a good go. So please, if you are looking for a new four-legged family member, or know anyone who is, please do contact us and consider adopting from and supporting the missions of Animals SOS Sri Lanka. We will have another Instagram page (seems to be the only platform we’re confident in using!) up and running soon with more information on each pup, with a link to a UK adoptions website too. In the meantime, while we are getting this all set up, please head over to https://www.animalsosadoptions.com to have a look at what the charity does, or reach out to us to find out more information about the pups we have in mind - we have lots of photos and videos to share!
Image taken from the Animal SOS adoptions website - don’t tell Bruce he’s not in it!
Thanks so much for continuing to follow along with our journey. Being back home has made us realise how much a like-minded community matters. If anything in this update speaks to you, or you’d like to connect, we’d love to hear from you. We’re excited about what’s next, from connecting with parents to helping pups find their loving homes.
We’ll keep you posted as things unfold!
Sharon and Dan
P.S. I’ve had this in my drafts for a week - why is life so busy?!