Having a vision (but not a hallucination!)

Had a conversation with the manager of pre-school this morning and we talked about how important it was to have a vision if you wanted to improve.  Her pre-school has been graded 'good' and she's now aiming for 'outstanding' which is how it should be.  I have always thought that those childcare settings who gain an outstanding from Ofsted are the ones who are continually working out where they need to improve their practice and what changes they need to put in place to get there.  These are the ones with a vision.  I pondered this as I drove away and realised there are parallels to living a life with dementia.  There is no point in making changes and then thinking that's it.  The most recent changes will make a difference but then the dementia will take a different turn and you need to be ready to make more changes.  In fact you need a vision of how want your life to be.  It must be an  achievable vision (there's no point, for example, in deciding that you're both going to trek to Everest Base Camp) but a vision nonetheless as you will then have something to aim for.  My vision at the moment is to create an environment where Ash is relaxed, life is fun again and we can socialise with friends for a while to come.  I think that's achievable and it gives me a focus and a feeling of satisfaction each time I get over another hurdle.  Watch this space to see if I can bring it off.

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