The Journey Begins
Every journey, at least in the UK, starts with a look at the weather. For this journey I shall bring along a woolly hat, sunglasses and my waterproofs- they should cover most eventualities. Plus a flask of tea and good, dark chocolate – the essentials. Life, after all, is unpredictable. Take this morning, for instance: I went out in wellies and waterproofs and came back and sat in the garden in a sun hat. You just never know.
Why
Why am I even embarking on this journey and inviting you to come along? Because I think we are creatures who need kindness and connection, especially if it’s cold out there but also when we need to share our triumphs. I hope that the experiences and understanding I write about, will connect with you and companion you for a little while on your own journeys. Whatever the weather.
Seasons
More predictable than weather, is, I have found, the cycle of the seasons and over the last 10 years I’ve pretty much gone through one revolution. When I’d given up on ever being deeply loved, met and appreciated, a beautiful man came my way. It was a late summer love, the blooming of the most fragrant rose in the garden at the point when you think there is nothing more the garden has to offer. Life turned on a sixpence (or more accurately a kiss) and whilst my stomach may have jittered, my heart opened and my bones knew – finally. But it was, as I say, late in the summer and autumn set in soon enough; illness followed injury and a cruel wind blew the leaves off the trees. My husband was put on palliative care medication, my darling son died of a heroin overdose and my husband died 10 months later.
Navigating winter
It was a long, cold winter, bleak and cheerless. But however endless it seemed, there was a hope, albeit diminutive in size, that spring would come again. The necessary rhythm of taking care of my dog, the love of my daughter and kindness of friends and the solace of a home and of the river that runs close by, kept me trudging through those cold, sunless, woolly hat and wellie days.
Spring
Winter lasted 3 years and finally, slowly came a changeable spring. Blue chinks of sky were followed by thick fog; the sun shone on my face with the arrival of a precious grandson and a bitter east wind blew in with the wretchedness of work; but gradually, 10 months after it began, spring has established. Here I am and here this blog is, one of the seeds I planted in hope that it would flourish.
Flourishing
I dream that this seed, now a green shoot with promise, will bear fruit, not just for me, but especially for you, fruits of comfort and connection, of understanding and insight, fruits that sweeten your day and nourish your heart. I can dream big! Over the weeks, I shall post everything from finding happiness in a minor key to cake recipes for the soul, from the joys of travel to the myths about being a menopausal woman (we are still – more- beautiful). To break up the monotony of just listening to me, there will also be blogs from guests – indeed, please let me know if you too have something you’d like to say.
Please be in touch
I welcome you writing to me and sending me your thoughts, experiences and feedback. Whatever the season for you, knowing someone can accompany you, even for a moment or two, can make a difference.
I am drinking – with my trusty cup of tea, as, since the menopause, alcohol makes me ill– to a long, ripening summer and a bountiful harvest.
With love
Nickie