Eyes Open...

Sometimes, things happen that leave their mark and one morning last week, that happened.

I was walking to work along the footpath towards the bridge, with my head down and my head cluttered with a hundred and one thoughts. As I neared the bridge, I heard a man's voice shouting, very loudly. I have never reacted too well to the sound of men's raised voices so I cursed under my breath, ''will you just be quiet'' and carried on walking, keeping my head down.

As I looked up, in order to cross the road, I caught sight of him, propped up against the wall at the foot of the bridge, still shouting and waving his arms in the air. I couldn't see any further than the sound he was making, but suddenly I noticed...what was actually going on.

About two feet behind him I saw his motorised wheelchair, trapped behind a roadworks sign. He had staggered out of his chair and was trying deperately to draw the attention of the workmen about 100 yards down the road.It was bitterly cold, noisy and he looked extremely grey in colour, was so obviously ill.

I was so ashamed that I had failed to assess what was happening and I went to help him. Better late than never I suppose but I felt so bad. I ran to a workman, who used wire cutters to remove the sign from the path as it was attached to the wall.All the while the poor man was in distress, in the cold. We helped him back into his chair and he was able to continue his painful journey... that is called his life.

As I made my way on my own journey, he shouted again and this time I responded with an open-mind...''bless you'' he said. It was then that the tears came. All the way along the beach on my route to work.
Yes, the sign shouldn't have been placed so thoughtlessly, and yes, there were probably other people passing in cars and on foot who failed to stop and assist, and yes, maybe he shouldn't have made the journey in the extreme cold...

But despite all those things,although watching, I was not really looking, and he was...
''not waving but drowning''

Stevie Smith - Not Waving But Drowning

Nobody heard him, the dead man,
But still he lay moaning:
I was much further out than you thought
And not waving but drowning.

Poor chap, he always loved larking
And now he's dead
It must have been too cold for him his heart gave way,
They said.

Oh, no no no, it was too cold always
(Still the dead one lay moaning)
I was much too far out all my life
And not waving but drowning.

I've Been Tagged By Pris!

I've recently been ''tagged'' by Pris.

So here goes...

Favourite thing to do on the net (apart from blogging, of course!): Watching old music videos and concerts on You Tube.

Favourite leisure activity: Walking.

Favourite Meal: Roast beef and Yorkshire pudding with any vegetables.

Favourite Pudding: Lemon meringue.

Favourite Drink: Coffee.

Favourite Book: Everything by Jodi Picoult.

Favourite Film: Gosh...there are so many. ''As Good As It Gets'', ''Billy Elliot'', ''The Calandar Girls'', there are many, many more.

Favourite Music: U2, Snow Patrol, Travis, dance/trance, Phil Collins, Pink...and hundreds more.

Favourite Quote: ''If everyone's going somewhere, why does it feel like I'm going nowhere?''

Favourite Colour: Pink

Favourite Flower: Poppy

Favourite Blog: They are all good, all individual.

Thanks for tagging me Pris. I would now like to ''tag'' Richie and Imran with the same questions...getting to know you...smiles.

So much for regular posts!!!

Ha...I started the New Year off with the promise that I would post here more frequently...no such luck. Since I got home I have been so very busy with one thing and another.

Settling the girls back into a new school term and myself too, paying all the bills as I'm sure everyone else is having to do too, looking round the house thinking of the 101 jobs that need doing...I tend not to dwell on that if I can help it...and much more.

I'm struggling to re-adjust to being away from Richie again, like I did last time, but this time seems harder still. We speak on the phone and on msn messenger on the pc, but there is no substitute for being together in person. I have decided to use good old fashioned ''snail-mail'' this year too and have so far sent Richie two lots of post and have another little parcel ready to send on Friday. We just have to do what we can during the separation periods...sigh.

My girls are busy little bees too, just like me. Becky has finished all her filming for the up and coming new BBC children's show and it will be screened in February, so watch this space! We are all so excited about seeing her on tv. What a little starlet. She has also just passed her ''brown belt'' in karate and has two more years of hard work, in order to gain her black belt. As well as karate she does rugby and hockey, so she has become just as sporty as her big sis.

Nicola is doing well too, although I'm not too sure about this ''teenage'' thing!!!
I'm kind of muddling my way through it(as I think most parents do) and I and have opted for some extra help in the form of a parenting course, ha, more about that in another post. She does some form of sport every night of the week and is always on the go. Next month she will be 15! I can hardly believe it.

''If you can't beat them, join them'' so the saying goes...I have resumed my long walks and have started back at the gym...needless to say I've been aching bad since Friday, when I resumed.

So life is very busy for us three girls, day to day, week to week.

It's been a year now since I came off all my medication, and what a year it's been. I feel more energised and fitter overall than I have been since my twenties.I've met someone whom I love deeply, I have two healthy children, I am very lucky...

I often wonder ''where I've been'' all this time, like I've woken up to the smell of the coffee...now it's time to brew some more.(and I just love coffee)

I hope you all have a good week and I look forward to visiting your blogs to see how your lives are going.

Smiles.

We Value Your Feedback...

Well, I am back home now after a wonderful ten days spent with Richie in the U.S.

I am missing him badly, but have so many happy memories to reflect on and we will be sharing them with you all, over the coming weeks as well as keeping up to date with all your posts too.

We have both decided to try and post on our blogs more frequently than last year and Richie has just posted a very interesting topic for debate to kick-start the year. We had a very lively discussion about the subject whilst I was there and we both value your feedback on this topic.

To join in this debate, please click on ''The Life and Times Of Me''
in my links section on the right,which will direct you to Richie's blog. The joy of blog world, is that we are spread all over the globe and it is fascinating to learn about other cultures.

We are looking forward to reading your comments...Smiles.

The best start to a New Year.

Happy New Year everybody. I hope you all had ''a good one'' as they say.

At this moment in time I am sitting at Richie's pc writing this blog entry. He has had to go to work for a few hours so I am using the time wisely...ha.

I am on another continent, in another time zone, a long way from home but couldn't be any happier than I am right now.

I have had the most wonderful time and just don't want it to end and am more than aware that we only have a couple more days left together...sigh.

I feel sad, choked and quietly distraught but don't want to waste the precious time we have left together feeling these things.

I am with the man I love, my true soul-mate and feel like a princess...because he treats me like one.

I keep seeing planes flying past in the sky and know that very soon I will be on one of them, after having had to say goodbye to Richie...

It is going to be so hard to leave him and I know I'm going to struggle but I have to focus on the future, our future.

Tonight, we are going ''bowling'' and to a bar for a couple of drinks after he's finished work. I must remember to take my camera as I haven't taken nearly as many pics as I would have liked. We have been far too busy having fun.

We have created a well of memories this past week and I am going to be drawing on them in the coming months. I am going to re-live and replay every last one of them. I'm going to have to.

I have waited my whole life for this man. I have never met anyone like him. Loving him is easy.He is so lovable. Being separated from him is unbearable. It's a pain I've had before and now it's on its way again...big time.

We have decided that this year is going to be ''our year''...I truly hope so.

We have started it ''together'' and mapped out our hopes and dreams. So I raise my glass to ''hopes and dreams'' for us and for all of you too.

Smiles.