I hope you are all getting ready for the weekend no matter what the weather is going to be! We in the UK will be enjoying an extended weekend as it's a bank holiday.
I find it funny how things come about that show you how much you are loved and cherished, this always for whatever reason makes me feel very humble. It's not so much that I think I don't deserve it, but more that I can't understand what I've done or how I instill this feeling on others.
My cousin Andrea txt me to ask if I wanted to go climb Whernside this coming weekend with her and her husband Simon. Her sister, my cousin Sue and her hubby Bill are going too. Simon, Andrea and Sue successfully completed the Yorkshire 3 Peak Challenge in June. Now anyone who has read my blog will know Whernside is one of the 3 Yorkshire Peaks from the endurance challenge I organised this June just gone. Whernside was the only peak I managed on my failed quest, the one I was so very poorly climbing back down from, and the one where I had to accept defeat on the day. I said I would go back to re-do it and hopefully prove I could easily do it without any ill effects.
So I of course jumped at the chance to go prove to myself I could do it and regain some confidence back. My wonderful cousins Andrea and Simon have decided they will be picking me up and will be driving, Simon said he isn't going to let me drive there and back, and they are going to leave a car at either end of Whernside just in case I do take poorly again, so I can be driven back to the Station Inn pub where we will start from. How amazing is that? that my family are willing to put some much thought and planning into their walk so I can go safely with them. Thank you so very much for thinking of me!
I feel so very blessed with the people in my life, so very honoured to call these folks family and friends. So very grateful to them for recognising my need to push myself to achieve the challenges I set myself, no matter how hard they are. To encourage me along saying they'll be there with me instead of saying it's too much, and don't try. A smile and a gentle squeeze is all the encouragement I need, my determination can never be called into question, even if my body cannot always live up to the tasks I set it. I don't for one minute regret being so tough on myself .
As I sit on the cusp of my new life, this new chapter that is starting to open up.....I wait to see if I've been accepted for a placement at college on a part-time course, this is stage one of a completely new career direction for me. It's my second chance in live, and I'm planning on making it a life I truly feel rewarded for doing, it's not about the money, the position or the promotion. I've done all that, personally found it not worth it, too many hours, too much stress and not time or energy to enjoy all my hard work. This time, on my second chance, I want to really give something back, to feel rewarded not financially but emotionally by making someone else's life hopefully a little easier.
Social media gets quite a lot of bad press, always about the affairs that happen because of it, the cheating, whether it be in a real meet-up, or through intent alone...let's remember if it's through intent alone, you can guarantee it's only because geographically it's harder or impossible to meet up for real.
These kind of stories are all we ever hear about, but lets remember the positive side to any social media network - the side that allows family and friends to easier and cheaply stay in touch across the globe. To all the innocent cyber friendships that are made and maintained and in some cases end up stronger than our real life friendships! These are the wonderful things that social media networks like Facebook can give us. And don't forget the chance to reconnect with people from our past, old friends we lost touch with over the years, friendships from childhood where one family moved away and the letters eventually ceased to be posted. And for many millions of us, a chance to catch up with old school chums!! I love the positive side of something like Facebook, and remember the "bad" people out there who use this medium to start flirting, having illicit affairs etc will always find a way, if not here then somewhere else. A cheater is always a cheater wherever they and whatever they do. Don't allow those few to taint the wonderful gift of social media for the masses.
I myself in recent months have had the enormous pleasure of re-connecting with some old school chums, some I had gone to school with from the age of four, others from the age of nine....all lost in the busyness of life from the age of thirteen....new schools brought on meeting and gaining new friends - and in that time of confusion and uncertainty....old comfortable friendships were lost along the way....no-one to blame, just real life taking over in the whirlwind of settling into new schools.
I went to meet one of my old school chums Maggie this Sunday gone, what a great time we had....it was really nice as we had no awkward stunted conversations, the years just fell away, we were all relaxed, I met her husband Pete and one of her sons Daniel, they were great and very easy to get on with. We chatted about school and about what had being going on in our lives over the last three decades, it all just blended and was a really relaxing day. Maggie summed it up really well, she said anyone watching us, our conversation and our body language would never believe it had been 30 years since we had last being in each others company. So through social media, I have gotten back a very good friend of mine, and I will be eternally grateful to it. I looked forward to our next meet up and more catching up.
Everyday life is very difficult for many people all of the time for many various reasons, from things like, health, financially,physically, emotionally and in many cases a mixture of all of them. So with this in mind, I know I am very lucky indeed to have family and friends who want to spend time with me, not because it's an obligation, but genuine want, but I spare a thought for those who aren't as blessed as me, for those who are lonely and feel unloved,those struggling everyday with constraints on their lives, and this is why I want to give back, to show those less fortunate that someone does care enough to want to improve their lives by showing an interest in them, to try and ease some of their difficulties, I can't do that financially, but I can do that emotionally, and I do try.
Until next time
Tracy
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