Passing On A Lovely Message

Today, I dared to let myself dream,
That the world will one day open again.
That the locks will loosen, the walls will fall,
The doors will fly open and reunite us all.

I dared to imagine the warmth of a cuddle,
A group of my friends all locked in a huddle.
I felt all the heartbeats, drumming with mine,
I heard all the laughter, I tasted the wine.

I thought of the feelings I’ve missed for long,
The room full of music, united by song.
The freedom to roam, to plan and to meet
To hold someone’s hand, to meet, to greet.

Just for a moment I dared to dream of,
The flights I would board to the places I love.
The moment those eyes would meet mine at the gate,
The feeling of joy after so long a wait.

Today, I dared to let myself dream,
That the life we once had would happen again.
That we’d no longer fear the danger of air,
That our lives would not depend on such care.

They say that we mustn’t wish time away,
But it’s hard, my friend, when faced with a day,
So long in blank hours and so wiped of laughter,
It’s tempting to drift away to thereafter.

So yes, I dared to dream just a while,
Of life coming back, it brought me a smile.
One day I know, this will be in the past,
And hugs will be free, again, at last.

Donna Ashworth

Author of ‘To The Women’ and ‘History Will Remember’. 

Living In The Moment

Hello my friends. What a year 2020 was, everyone has there stories and so many are unhappy ones.

Today I realised that the biggest lesson last year taught me was to enjoy and embrace living in the moment each day, it’s all about enjoying the little things, after all we can’t change anything by worrying and it robs you of your peace of mind.

I find myself looking forward to the simplest of pleasures, it could be a homemade prawn wrap for lunch or getting home after work for that delightful vodka and tonic, whilst cooking a nice dinner for my Husband and deciding what to watch on TV that evening. Talking about how to make to most of a locked in weekend by planning something more special for dinner on Saturday night. Also, we have come back to our love of playing cards, we have a gin rummy competition going, playing for ten pence a game – it’s surprisingly addictive!, it reminded me that my Grandma taught me how to play cards when I was young, she was a very skilled card player and was in a card club with friends.

I, like all of you I’m sure, will be the happiest person when we have all had the vaccine and life returns to normal, vacations and going out to see friends, out for a meal etc.. and I count my blessings that neither of us (so far so good) have caught the damn virus and hope that the vaccine is hurriedly given to one and all.

Stay safe dear friends and be kind to yourselves, you deserve it.

Time For A Bit Of Cheer!

As I have been driving around the neighbourhood, I have noticed in the last week or so, many people have their Christmas trees and decorations up already, so early I thought?

After thinking about it I came to the conclusion that after the year we have all had, everyone is just wanting a bit of cheer and something to look forward to. I have to say I have enjoyed seeing the pretty twinkling lights and good wishes in peoples windows. So today, at my office, I went into the storage and got out all the decorations and made a start on the tree. This year I positioned it in a window so it can be seen by people outside and inside, hoping it also brings cheer to others.

There is something about decorating a Christmas tree that can’t help but make you feel happy and grateful, although the sun was streaming through the window and it got so hot I had to put the A/C on ! I thought to myself that this is what it must feel like in California when they put their decorations up!

I’ll be putting my home tree up this weekend, I suspect an army of you will be doing the same!

Happy decorating my friends – enjoy!

You Never Know

Dearest Readers

I read this on a friends Facebook page and wanted to share it, because it could not be more true in this world we find ourselves in.

You never really know the true impact you have on those around you.

You never know how much someone needed that smile you gave them.

You never know how much your kindness turned someone’s entire life around.

You never know how much someone needed that long hug or deep talk.

So don’t wait to be kind. Don’t wait for someone to be kind first.

Don’t wait for better circumstances or for someone to change.

Just be kind, because you never know how much someone needs it.

Author – Nikki Banas, 3am thoughts.

The picture is of my gorgeous Mum, she sadly passed away six years ago this month, she was the epitome of kindness and beloved by all that knew her, she is missed every single day.

I Literally Worried Myself Sick

Something very strange happened to me last Thursday. For no apparent reason at all I started to feel unwell, of course the first thing you think is … Is it the dreaded Covid? But I had absolutely none of those symptoms. My stomach was churning, I was fuzzy headed and the only way to describe me was – I didn’t feel well. I thought I must have some sort of bug, I felt nauseous so I wondered if I ate something, but I didn’t vomit or have diarrhoea. I felt like this all weekend, it did come and go, but I had no energy or the will to be bothered to do anything but sit around.

I talked to a Doctor friend of mine, she told me I was suffering from ANXIETY !

I couldn’t believe it, I have no real worries, my life is settled and good…. she went through a list of symptoms related to stress/anxiety and out of ten of them, I had seven. She explained that it can be a build up of small things and in my case my subconscious, she said I may be worried about the Covid Pandemic without even knowing it, or my elderly Father or any number of things in the back of my mind. I was totally incredulous that I could have all these physical symptoms from anxiety. My friend advised me on some breathing techniques and meditation. The next day my stomach had settled down and my head was much clearer and a week later I feel fine again. It was as if a light bulb went off, I had an explanation and now I could logic everything out.

I find it frightening that I felt so dreadful and my head caused it to myself. I subconsciously made myself ill.

To any of you wonderful readers out there who ever feel like this, please talk to someone, I am so grateful that I had someone to reach out to.

Wishing you all much happiness, stay safe and well and look after each other.

We All Need A Smile!

Smiling Is Infectious
by Spike Milligan

Smiling is infectious,
you catch it like the flu,
When someone smiled at me today,
I started smiling too.
I passed around the corner
and someone saw my grin.
When he smiled I realised
I’d passed it on to him.
I thought about that smile,
then I realised its worth.
A single smile, just like mine
could travel round the earth.
So, if you feel a smile begin,
don’t leave it undetected.
Let’s start an epidemic quick,
and get the world infected!

So fancy passing a smile around 😊

We Are Not In The Same Boat

I often hear “we are all in the same boat”, but that’s not exactly accurate. We are in the same storm, but not in the same boat. Your ship could be shipwrecked and mine might not be. Or vice versa.

For some, quarantine is optimal. A moment of reflection, of re-connection, easy in flip flops, with a cocktail or coffee. For others, this is a desperate financial & family crisis.

For some that live alone they’re facing endless loneliness. While for others it is peace, rest & time with their mother, father, sons & daughters.

With the increase in unemployment some are bringing in more money to their households than they were working. Others are working more hours for less money due to pay cuts or loss in sales.

Some were concerned about getting a certain chocolate for Easter while others were concerned if there would be enough bread, milk and eggs for the weekend.

Some want to go back to work because they don’t qualify for unemployment and are running out of money. Others want to kill those who break the quarantine.

Some are home spending 2-3 hours/day helping their child with online schooling while others are spending 2-3 hours/day to educate their children on top of a 10-12 hour workday.

Some have experienced the near death of the virus, some have already lost someone from it and some are not sure if their loved ones are going to make it. Others don’t believe this is a big deal.

Some have faith in God and expect miracles during this 2020. Others say the worst is yet to come.

So, friends, we are not in the same boat. We are going through a time when our perceptions and needs are completely different.

Each of us will emerge, in our own way, from this storm. It is very important to see beyond what is seen at first glance. Not just looking, actually seeing.

We are all on different ships during this storm experiencing a 𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗱𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗷𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗲𝘆.

Author Unknown

Spirit In A Crisis

Yesterday my lovely Husband told me that there was a thing going around Facebook and social media, that everyone should come outside their front door at 8pm and applaud in honour of our amazing National Health Service.  I texted my friend next door and she said she had heard about it and suggested we do it, even if we are the only ones (we live on a fairly quiet estate).  So at 8pm we poked our noses out of the garage, along with the next door neighbours and started clapping.  I looked down the street only to see everyone (except Vile Vera of course, reference earlier blogs if you want to know about her!), there were neighbours at the top of their driveways clapping their hearts out, some some in windows, people waving to each other, when I slowed clapping for a minute I realised there was clapping coming from everywhere, all the surrounding streets, it was the most amazing feeling.  The community spirit and support not only for our Health workers, but each other as friends and neighbours was fantastic.  I felt overcome all evening, I’ve never been part of something like that, I can’t describe how good it made us feel.  Apparently it will be happening every Thursday at 8pm, I will definitely be out there clapping my heart out.  I know this is happening in other European countries, so well done to you all far and wide, we will beat this Coronavirus, and Thank you to all health workers of every kind, in every country, all over the world, God bless you all.

Words Of Wisdom For The World

 

Just A Bump In The Road

Yesterday I had a horrible day.  A misunderstanding at the office led both of my bosses to speak to me rudely and without respect, despite my apologies, one of them went on at me until she made me cry.  The problem was easily fixable, I fixed it.  But it wasn’t their unkindness or what they said that hurt so much, it was the way they made me feel.  I cried much of the evening over being treated so harshly.

I woke up this morning with a heavy head and for the first time in fourteen years, I didn’t want to come to work.  But I of course did come to work.  I felt miserable all morning, when the bosses came in they were super pleasant to me, I am assuming that might be their guilty consciences?

When I was out at lunchtime, I opened my car door and right there on the ground was a shiny penny, it looked like brand new, I picked it up and put it in my pocket, I decided it was a sign.  So I decided to also cheer up and try and feel better.  By the afternoon I did indeed feel a bit brighter, but I had to work at it.

I remembered years ago a friend advising me when I had a problem, she said ‘It’s just a bump in the road’, it seemed apt that I remembered it today.

So my lovely readers, if you have a bad day, and I sincerely hope you do not, remember tomorrow is new day, I can’t guarantee you will find a shiny penny, but I bet you will see a sign of some sort if you keep your eyes open!

Have a wonderful and blessed week xx