I blame the TV...

I don't watch a lot of TV. Even the amount I do watch is too much. It takes up too much time, does not stimulate my mind and if I allow, it manages to fill my night. Before I know it, it's time for bed and I have wasted another night. It is a trap.

Quite a few years ago, my partner and I got rid of the TV for 6 months. And I loved it. I read more. I listened to the radio more. We talked more. When the football season began, I was convinced that the TV come back into our home. And it infiltrated into our lives and much of our spare time again.

The TV I own now is only tiny. Small enough to be hidden in a cabinet and not take over the room or the conversation. It can be closed away completely when I please and I like it that way. In fact, I would quite happily not have a television at all. And so, when people realise what viewing I am 'reduced' to, and they ask me why I don't upgrade, I tell them it's not a priority.

Of course, it does make watching subtitled movies pretty much impossible. And whilst I could blame that on the fact I could really do with getting my eyes checked, I blame the TV.

Overheard conversations...

On the week-end, I was visiting a friend in hospital and arrived just at the end of the rest period. The friend was still asleep, so I made my way to the patients sitting room to wait for a while.

I took a seat on the sofa and opened a magazine which did little to hold my attention. There was an elderly couple sitting together talking. They both sat at the only table in the room, facing each other with their hands resting together on the table between them. He was obviously a patient (being dressed in a flannelet dressing gown and slippers) and she was his wife. I know this because I had seen her arrive at the hospital a few days earlier with his walking frame and as she wheeled it along at a brisk pace, she informed us it was for her husband.

It was impossible to ignore the conversation. She spoke quite loudly and he spoke with a very proper English accent, not unlike what I would expect of an army Colonel. Their shared conversation bought a smile to my face. The first thing that got my attention was his distinct voice saying (without a hint of hesitation) that "the only thing that is keeping me going, is the strength of my love for you my darling". She smiled at him and squeezed his hand and commented about the view.

She continued with her talk of getting older and how, now that she was 84, she had to limit herself to only one visit a day. He agreed wholeheartedly, saying she was not to exhaust herself. "It's not like I'm 80 anymore you know" she replied with another smile and another squeeze of the hand.

"I do love you, my darling" he said later in the conversation and she smiled and they were silent for a moment in each other's company. She did not return his words, but she continued to smile and her face glowed. That their feelings were mutual was without question. They were there for one another and no-one could intrude on their time together.

The above image was created using WORDLE.

My Mum is amazing...

My Mum is amazing...
She turned 68 on Sunday and she rose at her regular time of 7am, dressed and then walked the short distance to the local beach and went swimming. It was only 9 degrees. It is a daily routine in Summer and she generally continues well into April when it eventually gets too cold. As she swam, I went for a walk and met her as she emerged smiling and pink from the cold and the glow of the rising sun.

My Mum is amazing...
She has raised 3 brilliant children (all now in their 40's) and loves them all despite the fact none of them have produced any Grandchildren. She has an oak trunk full of hand knitted goodies ready and waiting for gifting to friends and family with new babies.

My Mum is amazing...
She cooks an incredible traditional Christmas dinner which has been enjoyed across the years by extended family and friends from all corners of the globe. Her Christmas pudding is impossible to stop at one helping.

My Mum is amazing...
She understands the importance of silence without the need for conversation.

My Mum is amazing...
She is an extensive reader. Of course this often makes it a bit tricky to buy her books as gifts, but she always has a book at hand to recommend and a pile more at her bedside waiting to be read.

My Mum is amazing...
She has a wicked sense of fun and likes playing jokes. When she was visiting me in London once, I returned home from work on Halloween night, to find a burning jack-o-lantern in our darkened room and her draped in a sheet, waving her arms, and making ghost noises in the corner. I was in my late 20's at the time, but boy did we laugh!

My Mum is amazing...
Last year Mum was instrumental in helping 2 local elderly ladies escape the constraints of a greedy niece who was intent on locking them into a nursing home and selling their home in their absence. After a rather lengthy and stressful battle, their home is now safe and they have now returned to live in peace in their own space. With the support of Mum and a few local women who visit them daily, they will hopefully stay there for some time to come.

My Mum is amazing...
At 68, she loves a round of golf, cooks a wicked roast dinner, is a tough scrabble opponent and is a cryptic crossword guru. She always greets me with a hug and a smile and enjoys the company of a large group of friends. On Sunday she turned 68 and yet I know she still feels like she's in her 40's. No wonder we are such good friends!

Happy Birthday Mum. I love you, and just in case you didn't know, I think you're amazing.

November 2nd 1937

This is the day my father was born - 70 years ago!

I have been watching him lately and thinking about what this means. A long time ago, I would have looked on 70 as old. A man of 70 would be (funnily enough) an old man. And yet, as I look at my Dad, I do not see an old man at all. What I see is someone who is still passionate about the world around him. He loves his family (and they love him), he is active (he won golf last week), he works hard, reads widely and is always ready for good (and intelligent) conversation. Fantastic.

Happy Birthday Dad.
Hip Hip Hooray!
Hip Hip Hooray!
Time for cake!

Go ahead... make my day!

If you have dropped by on this auspicious day and read this post, it's time to say hi. Lurkers - it's time to jump out of the shadows and leave a greeting. You don't have to be a blogger to leave a comment, just press "comment" as the bottom of this post - It's that simple. Heaps of comments for my 40th birthday. Wouldn't THAT be great.

Yes. Today is my 40th birthday.
It IS a momentous day for me.

It's strange and exciting and amazing and bewildering and I wonder how it is that I am 40. It sounds so OLD.

When I was a teenager I thought 30 was so far away, and 40? well I saw 40 as the beginning of the end. That was the time when people were working for ever-more in their chosen careers, with families and homes established. Lives would be pretty much routine. Destinies chosen, options limited.

Now I am here, I see it completely differently.

It's true - I don't like the extra wrinkles, but I am happy to say I can attribute most of them to a lot of laughter. I don't like the fact that my thirties are over, not because I am getting old, but because, as I get older and I see more clearly, I see I have so many more things I want to do. And whilst I feel that I am running out of time, I really don't mind being 40. It's the place to be. I still have SO much more to learn.

At 40, I am happy to say I don't care so much about what other people think or do any more. I now realise it is more important how I act and how I treat the people and the world around me. I now see it is important to do the things that make me happy. At 40, I am trying not to torture myself over things I wish I had (or hadn't) done. I am working on being more creative and following what my heart tells me, trying not to overthink everything so much.

There are SO many things for which I am grateful and proud. I am healthy and fit and live a busy life that continues to challenge me. Life is good and exciting and still holds many opportunities and surprises. So, being 40 is pretty good really. And lets face it, it's a damn sight better than not being here at all!

Today is the 23rd of August

Today is the 23rd of August. Nothing unusual in that - yesterday was the 22nd and tomorrow is the 24th. It all makes sense... So what's the big deal?

For me it is another marker. The 23rd is always a reminder that my Birthday is an even month (or more) away. This year the 23rd of August is the 2 month marker to my 40th birthday. I know, I know, I have spoken of this in past posts, but it is on my mind and it seems I can't avoid it popping into my head at these moments. As this year is a milestone birthday, it has got me to thinking about getting old. No. Not just getting older. Getting old. O L D.

It doesn't seem that long ago I was celebrating my 30th birthday. I can still remember saying to myself: "God, how did 30 come around so damn fast? Oh well, at least I'm not 40!"

When I was a teenager, 40 seemed an aeon away. And now that I am on the brink, it seems unfair that I can no longer deny I am probably (I feel sick just muttering this phrase)... well I really am middle aged. Seriously. No matter how I look at it, it doesn't feel like I am heading in the right direction. What lies ahead is blue rinse, soft perms, flat shoes and woolly tights.

So, when does this transformation take place? When is it that men start wearing caps, short sleeved shirts with bow-ties and white knee high socks with sandals. When is it that I cut my hair short and buy hair dye in smoky shades of soft blue and talk about "the good old days" with old school friends. When do I place my marbles in one place and return later to find them gone? When do I throw out my self tan to make room for wrinkle cream and polly filler?

I already lose my keys regularly and talk to myself so maybe the signs of age are already beginning to show. A friend recently voiced her concerns that she has the first signs of Alzheimer's disease. I comforted her by saying if she could spell it, she couldn't possibly be suffering the symptoms. I (on the other hand) just had to use dictionary.com to check the spelling and was horrified to find I had it wrong! To make it even worse, I had it so badly off the mark that dictionary.com didn't even know the word I was looking for and suggested alternatives for spelling that may have been helpful. Funnily enough "old-timer's" was top of the list. So at this point it isn't looking good!

Yes wise friends, it is inevitable. Taxes and growing old (and eventually death). There is no avoiding it if we plan to continue walking on this planet. And so, what now? Well. Here's the thing. They say 40 is the new 30 and I am embracing this wholeheartedly. By the time I get to 40 in 10 years time they may be saying 50 is the next 30! Now that could get really confusing... especially given that I can barely do arithmetic now - by then I won't have a clue how old I am!

So I plan to celebrate my birthday in two months time. The big four ohhh will not go unnoticed. I plan to party with friends, play loud 80's music, share a few drinks and eat lots of cake. Acknowledge the occasion in style and the very next day, start telling every-one I am 30. That should work.