Another New Year beginning!

When I was a child, to  think of entering a new year with the number 2016 seemed to be so far in the future, it was impossible to think about it in reality... Now we are arriving at this doorstep and a whole new year waiting to be experienced.. I truly hope that for everyone, this coming year will be more peaceful and safer for people to live in.. That the rebels and evil ones are over come and life will be safe again. A hard wish, but maybe not impossible to achieve given the right approach...

meanwhile, whilst going through all my paperwork in my annual attempt at de cluttering, I found two poems.. One written by myself about my mother, and the other written by my younger daughter about her daughter.. so I thought I would type them out again.. just so its not on a piece of paper, that could be  easily lost*
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Portrait

Once I had a mother
Who lived so far away
And yet we spoke together
Each and every day.
Her words of wisdom I recall
Although I saw her not,
Through living long
And watching much
She always learned a lot.

Her hair was grey,
Her figure trim
Her clothes were smart
Her shoes did say,
That here was a woman
Small and neat,
Who's size of shoe
could not be beat*

She smiled a lot
And spoke out loud
Cared very  much
Not lost in a crowd.

She was my mother
I can't recall
Whether I told her
I loved her all
The time
And no matter what,
I was the luckiest daughter of
the lot!!

I wrote this for a birthday long long ago... if she had lived on, she would have been 100 this year, and her shoe size was 3, so hard to beat*

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Sleepless Nights

Singular moments in a rush of days
Isolated mid-nights of disturbed sleep
We dance together to whispered melody
Shh my sweet, sleep will come
Be still and embrace peace.

A twitch, a creak, she stirs again
As her dream place recedes
She finds comfort in my arms
My soothing heartbeat
Sways her lids
And slowly she drifts away.

Soon she will grow tall
These baby nights long forgotten
Breath deep, hold close, capture
these precious moments
To last a lifetime.

Gabriella Maria O'Rourke 2008

a text frm JOhn Wesley

“Do all the good you can,
By all the means you can,
In all the ways you can,
In all the places you can,
At all the times you can,
To all the people you can,
As long as ever you can.”
~ John Wesley  

 

  These words are so lovely, and hard to keep, but worthy to try and do it whilst we are living and starting a new year. I actually do try already to live this way and at times its gets a bit hard if the person you are with and trying to be kind to, does not appreciate all your efforts. But that is no excuse to give up on them, just give them another day and more time to realise that you are truly seeking to aid them in what they need to do, rather than being in judgement on them and their previous actions.  All my life I try to put myself in the other person's shoes and how that does help.. When people snap at you, its not because they are angry at you, but at something they themselves cannot achieve alone. They are tired, they are weary, there is any number of things that can make them be quite short with you.. Understand a bit where they are coming from and you will develop soon a quiet patience that will aid you in all your efforts. I find that my main point that I have to overcome is impatience* I want everything done now, and immediately a result.. of course the world does not work like that and I do so admire people that have patience to let matters takes their proper course and not interfere.

 

This coming year I am going to try even harder to be the best person I can, helping when I can be of help. ..Being tidier in all that I do, and organised in a much more meaningful way. I am also going to try and keep  my blog more  up to date and post a lot more.. getting used to having a blog has taken time, and now I am going to build that time into my daily timetable and organise myself so much better.. so I will be doing the best that I can for everyone that I can, and as long as I can.. thank you dear John Wesley...

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the last of Downton ......... aah

Jeannine Nye

5 mins ·

Just finished watching that last very last Downton Abbey programme... yes it was all sloppy and sentimental, but really absorbing too.. I have enjoyed all the episodes over the years, and the actors have always given their best.. a series truly worth watching every time** It evokes a time in England when all the old ways were finishing after the first world war, and it is so interesting to return and see a little of what was lost*.. this generation that we live in, does not have the grandeur, but we have the poor and impoverished with us still..the rich are still rich and lead different lives whilst the poor get poorer... as they always said, the more it changes, the more it remains the same... the last scene of the house standing tall as ever, as the snow blankets the ground.. perfect!

An Old-Fashioned World: A year

I was not able to leave a comment, so will do so here... thank you for your comments and I so hope we shall be in touch again.. meanwhile you have yourself and your family, the best xmas yet, and may the coming year be the very best you've ever had... all the best janzi

An open letter catchup that is for all my friends... a round robin in fact.... soemthing I hate receiving, but it is a short way to catch up with the major things that have happened..

A roundup of all, or most, that has happened to us in this last year*

 

In late 2014, I received an unexpected refund which allowed me at long last to go visit my son and family in Australia. We had a lovely Christmas with all the family attending here the day after boxing day, and then on the Friday 23<sup>rd</sup> January, I was leaving England to go visit Australia. It was a very long flight with a stop at Dubai and arrived safe and sound early evening at Perth Airport.

 I was met by my son Daniel and his lovely wife Alex and grandsons Griffin and Orion. The weather was amazingly warm and it was magical to be actually there with my boy.  The next day, Sunday, a celebration was held at their house for Griffin’s fifth birthday.. I stayed for two weeks and had the most wonderful time. Because of my condition I had not dared to travel far, but my body behaved itself and all was well until the last day before leaving when I had another accident, but soon recovered.

Because it had been so hot and my family refused to let me go out without factor 30 plastered all over me, John didn’t recognise me at the airport, because I was the same colour as I left, no tanning at all!!!!

I fell in love with Perth and would love to go back there , and in fact plan to return for Dan’s big birthday in 2017.

It was easy to fall back into the old routines at home, and then in April, I received news that my 4<sup>th</sup> child Christopher’s marriage was over after 8 years of marriage. This was so shocking , we had no idea they had troubles, and I was very upset and could not get it through my mind how final it all was. We tried talking to both of them, but it is happening..

 A few weeks later I got Shingles. I think it was the shock, but who knows? I was fortunate enough to get to the doctors and got a medication that helped the worst of the illness be contained. So after a while I was recovered and back into all the routines. Meanwhile, John who had his own medical troubles seemed to be coping well and he is amazingly tolerant at my going away abroad.. His breathing seemed to be ok, he has a condition called COPD.. which is incurable, but he keeps on going and jogging every day.

In May I had an appointment to have a mammogram. I was very loth to attend to this, as the whole procedure is hard and sometimes quite painful.. however I DID attend. Two weeks later I got a letter asking me to have a return appointment at the hospital. Naturally I was worried, but when I got there I was told that there was good news as it looked like pre cancer cells found in my left breast. It meant another appointment which John attended with me. The surgeon said that I could leave it, or have a lumpectomy or a mastectomy . Of course I opted for the lumpectomy and then had fifteen days of radiation therapy.

I decided to wait to have it until I got back from my visit to Canada seeing Gabriella, my daughter and her family. They live in the Ontario area and quite rural. It was lovely to see her and share time with them all despite the absence of her son, who had left home some time before.[ Too long a story to tell her, but its a sad one]...AND I met up with another old friend who I saw the last time I was  in Canada and who I first met when I was 18!!!  We had a lovely meal out together and could not stop talking  .... anyway, when I returned after two weeks, I then started the procedure to have the lumpectomy and radiation.

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John was amazing and drove me each day for my radiation thereapy to the hospital

  Finally in mid September I was finally free of hospital and life resumed once more.

 

Other news...

 This May I celebrated my 70<sup>th</sup> Birthday, and then on September 3<sup>rd</sup> John and I celebrated our twenty fifth wedding anniversary. Cannot believe where the years go to****

We had another Grandchild join our family, a little girl called Amelia Ivy, the daughter of John’s son Richard and his wife. She will  be one year old on December 28<sup>th</sup>.

I also had the sad news of four of my schoolfriends I had kept in touch with over the years, had passed  away and that was very upsetting as I had been quite close to them all. I guess its something we will have to get used to as we get older now.

 

I have been continuing with the legal action against the hospital and visited many specialists from both sides during the year. Today the 10<sup>th</sup> of December I will hear whether the judge thinks we have a case in order to proceed so that is ongoing at the moment.

 

 Now we are almost at the end of the year, and so much that happened, is in the past, and we are all looking forward to the next Year.

 

  I hope for everyone that I send this letter to, will enjoy an even better year next year, and that 2016 will be really happy and healthy for everyone..

 

live painting show - Woman's life