Birthday Musings

I'm writing this on my 61st birthday. It's 9:30am, I've drunk two tepid cups of tea, had some birthday hugs from Lily, and am now held hostage on the sofa by Bella, my cat. She doesn't seem in the mood for moving so I may stay in my dressing gown for a while longer yet.

It's been a significant year. We lost Dad. This has freed up a lot of my time, but left a gaping void where his personality was. It has also created a big hole in the fabric of our family, as he was the reason for other relatives coming to Ross. We will need to be far more proactive in order to stay in contact now.

This was also the year Paul retired, and our adventures could truly start. That's been mainly positive, although disagreements need to be avoided in such a small living space. Its also really strange to spend so much of my time with him. I think the secret of our long marriage has been the fact that we rarely saw each other! Work, children, parents and hobbies kept us out of each other's way for the majority of the time. Motorhome life is very different! Do you mind if I go out cycling without you? No! Go for a long ride, take all day, I'll be just fine on my own. Let me help you get your bike out of the garage... We're planning many more adventures, and I'm looking forward to them, but we may have to factor in more alone time.

Finally, it was the year that Claire went to live on the other side of the world. Hopefully not to get away from us. I'm missing her, and already mourning a Christmas when she won't be here. I've packed up over 3 kilos of gifts for her (not that much in reality), wrestled with the customs form and fainted at the cost of sending it, because I need her to have them on Christmas Day. Probably more important for me than her! We're going to visit for 6 weeks next autumn, and I know time will fly, but at the moment it seems an impossibly long time to wait. She's insisting we need to explore both islands, but I am intending spending as much time with her as possible. We'll see.

I do love exploring new places. This planet has so much of wonder to discover. I love the mountains, the forests, the rivers and lakes, the unspoilt outdoors. I really enjoy the history, the architecture of the towns and cities but not the crowds, or the traffic. We're rapidly learning to avoid anywhere busy as it makes me grumpy. We got back from our last adventure 4 weeks ago. We had a lovely 7 weeks, but home is always a place I'm happy to return to. Helen and Lily are at home, along with Bella, and I love them dearly. Despite the nasty cold virus that I've been dealing with for over 3 weeks, and the sinusitis that is currently rendering me a hostile person, I am very happy to be home. 

I got my haematology results this week. The very positive news from their rigorous tests is that, apart from some noticeable deterioration in my cervical region, I have a clean bill of health. Apart from the ITP. For whatever reason, my immune system very efficiently destroys my platelets. It seems I make enough, but they get hunted down and eliminated like minor characters in a horror movie. Back on the enhanced diet for me, it seems, as I am determined to avoid medical intervention if possible. Alcohol will also need avoiding for the most part, as will overly strenuous exercise. I will need to learn to be moderate. The major plus to emerge from my studies on the subject, is that yoga is pretty much top of my to do list! Stress has a negative impact on all autoimmune conditions, so yoga and meditation deliver proven benefits. Also, yoga is good for my cervical spine problems. Good job my daughter is a yoga teacher!!