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Continue reading →: We’re Not Asking for Luxury. We’re Asking for HelpThis week, someone told us that “people like us” expect the Government to “kit out our house.” I nearly ignored it. Instead, it made me realise how badly misunderstood disability support really is, and why I will never apologise for asking for help for Poppy.
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Continue reading →: Making Room – Weeks 5-8: The House Stopped. But The Clock Didn’t.What happens when the one place your disabled child should feel safest becomes the place she can no longer cope with? We were racing to make our home accessible for Poppy before the long school summer break. Then the build stalled, and the pressure mounted, but the clock kept on…
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Continue reading →: An Old FriendA photograph of an empty kennel brought back memories of our old Jack Russell, and the painful way our time together ended. This is a story about love, guilt, and an impossible decision. Content warning: This post discusses a dog attack, a young child, injury, blood, animal surrender and unresolved…
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Continue reading →: Making Room – Week 4: They Knocked a Hole In Our House… So We Moved OutBy the end of Week 4, we had walls, a first floor, a massive hole where part of the kitchen used to be, and absolutely no desire to stay in the house. Throw in 35°C heat, dust everywhere and two small children, and a cheap caravan park suddenly looked very…
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Continue reading →: Making Room – Week 3: Heatwaves, Thermoblocks and the Floor Beneath the FloorWeek 3: Dad surviving inside a 41°C attic, a garage torn down by hand and a tiny rectangle on the floor that had somehow cost us another unexpected £1,000. We discover just how quickly a family home can become a building site, a furnace and a financial emergency all at…
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Continue reading →: Hello Again, ColinTwo years ago, I sat opposite a stranger possibly but probably not called Colin in a hospital waiting room, expecting an ordinary routine operation. I had no idea that what would happen next would change my life forever. Two years on, and my unexpected journey continues…
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Continue reading →: Making Room: Week 2 – The Roof Comes OffThe roof came off, the budget was stretched to its limit, and we handed the house over to the builders. Week 2 was the point where months of planning became something real, and now there was no turning back.
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Continue reading →: The SurferA man arrived to buy my surfboard. Fifteen minutes later he was standing on my driveway, hand on my shoulder, praying for my chronic nerve damage. This is not really a story about faith. It’s a story about kindness.
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Continue reading →: Making Room: Week 1 – Scaffolding, Shed Building & Farewell to the GarageAfter two years of planning, quotes, grant applications, drawings and delays, work has finally begun on adapting our family home for our disabled daughter. In Week 1: scaffolding arrives, the garage door disappears, money starts evaporating, and the project suddenly becomes very real.
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Continue reading →: Making Room: Our Home Extension & Renovation ProjectWe bought our “forever home” in 2019. By the end of that same day, Emma had given birth prematurely, our lives had completely changed, and the years ahead would bring disability, lockdowns, wheelchairs, chronic illness, and eventually the realisation that our house no longer worked for the family living inside…
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Hello, Guten Tag, ¡Bienvenido!
We’re Emma & Stephen
Welcome. Mingo.Life is where our family explores resilience, disability, adventure, travelling the world, and the messy, beautiful truth of being human. If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed, undone, or you’re climbing back up that mountain, you’ll feel at home here. Come, warm yourself by the fire and enjoy reading about a life where imperfect is the new perfect, and coffee is always necessary.
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