Our first family holiday
It was the break we’d been longing for. It’s been a difficult time for us over the recent months. The juggling of work, family, and the British Sign Language (BSL) Level 2 examinations and losing two family members within six weeks of one another has been a burden, not to mention the stress. In recent times, we’ve been focusing on getting one foot over the other.
I’m so glad we went to Portugal and will definitely be returning. We were very pleased with the way Jet 2 made our travels more comfortable by allowing us priority access to security and onboarding.
This meant that we could have additional time to review the events that were happening in the surrounding area. Every child will struggle to function in a chaotic, stressful, and unsettling environment such as an airport. Add hearing loss to the mix, and it could be very overwhelming and difficult to deal with.
We make sure to keep Olivia at ease and take notes of everything we do so that she understands what’s happening and what’s coming the next time. This reduces the chance of unexpected events and helps keep stress to a minimum. All of this was in our favor because she picked up on new indicators like a suitcase” and ‘plane’ as well as a holiday.
The hotel was extremely accommodating, particularly for families with small children. I enjoy traveling to Europe because they have more gestures and expressions to communicate as British people use. This means that Olivia loved interacting with the people of Portugal. A staff member noticed that she was deaf and was even able to copy the sign language we used for communication with Olivia. This was amazing to witness.
Olivia did really well in general, considering she’s totally out of her usual routine. However, we’re now suffering since she’s not going to bed, instead believing that it’s time to go to an evening party!
There were a lot of instances when Scott and I could not communicate with each other due to the hum of the sea on the boat or separated, and we relied on BSL to talk. It’s saved us numerous times! One of the many benefits this amazing language offers.
