swilkinson

It really used to boost Ray up w hen Fathers day came and the family made a big fuss of him. Mother's day was more low key but i knew they loved me anyway. Appreciate what you have, a great son.

Katrina have a dear friend with depression and she struggles as you do. I love her dearly and will always try to be understanding even when I don't understand. (((hugs)))

Oh yes indeed Steve. And "mate" and "cobber" and "fair dinkum". Mostly this is in "the bush" (west of the Great Dividing Range) but bush kids come to the cities too so the old expressions are still carried on. I came to Australia aged seven but I am still an Aussie, both by choice and inclination. I love my country as you love yours.

Steve, I have changed in many ways since I was a widow but one day I will do this exercise for you. You are a remarkable man. Thank you for this site and the help it has been to so many, thank you for letting me in and encouraging me to help in the ways I have been able to in the ten years I have been here. Sue.

As Steve is reviving "100 things you didn't know about me" I went back and found this old blog of mine called "Who am I?" which was a challenge from a member who was very active at that time called Susan Lowe. It is another way of putting together a list about yourself. Mine has a genealogical flavour (so I am a complex person...lol) and I thought I would revive it so you can use it as an example. Maybe you can see things in it that will inspire you to do one of your own. Who am I? I am from the long line of Winchester and Wood women, from double chins and strong hands holding children. I am from pioneers who went to Utah in the 1880's and my birth family who came to Australia in 1955, I am from Britain not England, from 1066 and all that and from the mists of Ireland and the highlands of Scotland. I am from the peace and quiet of the urban seaside suburb. Not from the house with the seaview but the scruffier, lower, poorer end of town where the common folk live, where you walk if you want to or drive if you have to. I can smell and hear the sea on a stormy night but don't have the spray on my windows or corroding my rooftop. I can see a scene so pretty that it is commonplace, a sunset to the west, a sunrise to the east. I wave to neighbours as they pass on their walk to the sea. I am from the weedy end of the garden. I thrive as the geranium thrives, run riot as a trailing ivy. I can withstand the storms of life as the eucalypt does, putting out fresh shoots after fire destroys the other trees in the bush. I am British by birth, Australian by choice and have the strength of the bullbdog and the leap of faith of the kangaroo. I am from the strength of my father who survived a prisoner-of-war camp and the endurance of my mother who worked in a factory making war weapons all day and cried herself to sleep at night worrying about my father. I am from the dirt of the south of England, seed to wheat, acorn to oak, sleeping plant to great blossoming in Spring. I am enduring, strong, and rooted in the soil but when the wind blows I shiver like the aspen and shake like the willow. Send the lightning to destroy me but I will endure. I am from the dialect of the peasant, from the sound of hammer on anvil, from the whine of the machine and the swish of the broom and the thud of the pick. I behold death in my parlour and the undertrodden at my table. I am generous with the little I have but never fear hunger. What we have we share. From the tales of Celtic holy men and the shout of the free thinker, from the chant of the wode and the yell of the pikemen come the accents of my speech. I am Boadicea and Hilda. I am from the times of old, from the years of tradition, from singing an old song and singing it well. I'm from the green and pleasant land, from the fighting force, from the gamble with death and the rising to life. I am from the bottom of the barrel and what is left when the rotten apple is thrown away and the old snuggle down to drink cider in the winter. From the sunlit story of Marjorie and Patrick, from the darker side of Elizabeth and Harold, from the "eyes averted" stories of Durkin family secrets. Who is Louis anyway? I am from the inside out, wrinkles, grey hairs, wisdom and kindliness. I am from the cluttered cupboards of my mind, from the treasure and the trash, from the laughter and the tears. I sprung not from the ocean like Venus but out of the ground like the trolls, or out of the heather like a lepricaun. I descend from a long lost Swedish g g grandfather and the "litte dark woman" my mother remembers as a child. Who am I?

Wow for a private person 150 "things abut me" is off the scale! Pam, congratulations you are a champion!!!!!

Good for you, another amazing journey has begun, cats can be a lot of fun and laughter is so good for all of us.

Ruth, well done, a small getaway every now and again does lift your spirits. Loved your photos on Facebook. Sounds like it worked out very well visiting your son and make some good memories for him too.

I love how you find good things to be thankful for so much in you post stroke life. You are an inspiration in my life. I call you my "guru".

Thank you for the thought Fred. We used to send birthday wishes o the board but that doesn't seem to happen now. I did get one from Steve Mallory as a personal message though. Yes, winter, love it or hate it we just have to go through it.

I had a few days away visiting with my daughter and my family, it was nice to be with them for my birthday, to have a present first thing in the morning from the grandkids and they sang "Happy Birthday" and made me feel special. We had a special dinner that night, leg of lamb with garlic and roasted vegetables, a huge feast for me. So it was all very nice. I took the friend I had staying with me down to my daughter's place and she enjoyed herself too. She comes from an inland town where they wake up to frosts this time of the year so she loved the milder weather on the coast. We had a couple of walks along the Lake edge in the warmer part of the day and there were black swans and cormorants and ducks to watch and plenty of other bird life to see. My friend is a talented craftswoman, wire worker and jewelry maker so I have a small tree hung with semi-precious stones and a spider brooch. I am not in that league craftwise. I still make crocheted or knitted rugs and that and scarves are the total of my talents. I wish I were cleverer but it is what it is. She did show me how to make a tree of life pendant but mine came out a little windblown and spindly. She went on to visit other friends on that part of the coast so I came home alone. It took a long time as buses replaced trains while track work was being done and the Sydney traffic was it's usual sluggish self. I am just getting over a cold. Right you say, a simple cold. I can survive harder things than a cold but it makes me whiny, it makes me yearn to be pampered and petted and given cups of tea in bed, on a tray, with a rose beside it and... I can think of a heap of things I want. This is one of the times reality bites and I do realise I am all alone with no-one to care for me. Of course the kids are sympathetic if I speak to them on the phone and say: "Get better soon Mum" and "Take care of yourself." but that is all. No-one comes and tucks me into bed with a hot water bottle, makes sure I have plenty of fluids etc. I'm guessing this sounds so familiar to a lot of you out there and you are all nodding in agreement. I am getting ready to go out to Broken Hill to see my son and my grand daughter next week and be there for part 2 of the custody case. There is nothing I can do of course except make sure my son has support. It should be cut and dried and the custody he has had so far will be reviewed and hopefully he will get greater access to his daughter the delightful Alice. She is a big three now and speaks quite nicely on the phone to Granny Sue. It will be great to see her in person and see how much she has grown. I do so miss having grandchildren living close by, mine are so scattered now. I went next door to have dinner with my next door neighbour and his partner who is up from Sydney for a week. He should have had a cataract operation on Wednesday but it has been postponed a couple of weeks, she had taken time off to look after him so came up anyway. We had a roast leg of lamb with garlic, roasted vegetables and gravy and it was a lovely meal and so nice to have company to eat it with. The old Dad is in respite care so Brett can just rest up for a while. Like all caregivers he has become sleep deprived and prone to colds etc so the extra rest will do him good. The new minister at our church is beginning to look around to see who does what in the parish so I am trying to step back and look like I am not engaging in the process. I have a holiday coming up and really don't want to get immersed in a new ministry until that is past. I am still tired from all the work I did before he came so I guess that is why I have the cold, too much energy expended, not enough rest. I need to remember that I am not the gal I used to be and give myself some down time from ministry and responsibilities. Harder to do than to say. So far there are no people really sick that I have to visit which is just as well as with the misty moisty days I don't want to be on the roads more than I have to. And fortunately I can't go into the nursing homes with a head cold, too many vulnerable people there. I don't think they want me to traipse in bringing my germs with me. But just give me a couple of days of full sun and I will feel every differently about life. Somehow sitting in the sun, walking in the sun, just being outside on a pleasant day gives me the energy to go on. Make the most of your summer, my northern hemisphere friends, winter will come to you soon enough and winter is not the most satisfactory time of the year with it's short gray days. Enjoy your sunshine going out for a while in the early morning or late afternoon on those days when it is too hot to be comfortable in the middle of the day. Venturing out into the great outdoors and looking around you is so good for your spirit, you will feel so much better for doing that. And roll on time till my next beautiful Aussie summer is here again.

Fred, try to get as much sleep as you can, eat good food, get some exercise and go out in the sun , that lifts your spirits as well as giving you vitamin D. Just being outside in the garden means so much to me. I am a country girl so love the great outdoors. Just enjoy every day if you can.

Yes, when you fall and have no-one to call it is scary. I remember having a fall in my backyard when Ray was still here and having to crawl to the steps and wriggle down and get inside somehow and bathe blood off my shins etc. Not good, because there is no-one to help even when your loved one is home. Do think about wearing the button Sandy, a lot of women alone have to do that. Glad the result of the fall was not as bad as you thought, take care my friend.

Bravo Bruce and Debbie, well done indeed. Yes, falls are part of being away, used to happen to Ray and I too, lots of medical supplies travelled with us always. But you did it, you did it, you really, really DID IT!!!! I well remember those times of struggling along behind a bright attendant in her twenties who was pushing the wheelchair, her legs pumping blonde hair flying, me panting along behind...lol. But as long as it works who cares?

Good for you Fred, get out and about while you can. Family holidays sound like fun and you can get a kick out of being with people you love. You can support your wife while she is having fun. Women and shopping eh?

Scott, that sounds scary. My husband Ray had a similar episode and coumadin was ruled out and he went onto Plavix. he was right for a while but he still had TIAs and mini strokes. hard sometimes to determine the best treatment but there are doctors whose advice you have to trust somewhere along the line. Hope you recover some energy and can go on with your life.

Nancy continue to take care of yourself. You can still contribute a lot to Dan's quality of life too, but more now that your own life is on an even keel. Make the most of your family too. Devoting yourself to the complete care of someone else is never going to be easy and for people like your Dan maybe impossible is the right word. So make the most of your life and in doing so you can still enrich the life of others.

Katrina, no wise words, just a (((hug))). We value you here and want the best for you so be assured of our support in whatever you do.

Pam, I also struggled with the old life versus the new life when Ray had the strokes. Before the major strokes n 1999 we were two independent people working in jobs we loved - after we were caregiver and survivor struggling to make sense of our new world on a very much reduced income and with so many problems to overcome. But we did it. I knew right from the first there was no going back to the old life so that was never part of my thinking. You do so well in trying to go back but maybe in the end will accept that now is the reality and maybe then it will be easier to deal with. I hope there is a job out there that is right for you and people who will value and support you in it.

Cagin, I hope that things get better for your mother's sake. I know if they do not your family will be around her to support her. You are all in my prayers.

Fred, ants are a problem the world over. I remember my Mum running outside with a saucepan full of hot water and giving them a hot shower...lol. Less chemicals used in the old days. So sad so many lost their lives in the Texas floods, people are too impatient to wait and so go into danger without thinking what they are doing. It makes no sense to me risking losing your life to save time.

Jay, you did well. I've seen people riding a scooter ans shopping alone, sometimes I can reach something they can't and hand it to them. People are just people and I like to help.

George I hear from friends who use a cpap machine it does take some getting used to. But if you are happy with the sleep you are getting fine. The other issues you probably had anyway but ignored. Hard to realise we are no longer that completely healthy person we used to be eh? Don't get discouraged you will work it all out. What are you doing to stay fit now?

Great blog Lenny. Yo are one of our cheerleaders here. It is good to read a positive blog sometimes when life is tough, even now as a widow i need to see the positive side of life when I somehow lose sight of it. Thanks for posting it.