swilkinson

Asha, you get the award for stickability, good for you. I understand kiddo running out of goodwill, when Trevor lived with us I would have a list of things I needed help with. He would do some of them and he would say: " Last job for a while Mum." And that was fine. Your family will admire you for being resourceful and even if they don't actually say it will revere you for it.

I'm impressed by the tomatoes, I only plant two or three plants and I am thrilled if I get six or more. Do you make your tomatoes into sauces, chutneys, jams etc? We have Italian friends who put away enough in the freezer to make dishes with pasta all winter. Glad you are noticing the improvements now and finding most tasks doable. Don't worry about the tiredness that may lessen as you get stronger.

Wow Sue that is incredible! To paint as well as you do now, to have new ambitions, new ways of thinking. You certainly have come a long way from as you put it: "laying on the ground with dirt all around me". I am glad you enjoy the chat it has been wonderful for so many people especially in the sense of finding they are not alone. My Mum painted for many years but dementia took that from her. Looking back I wish I had encouraged her to go on whatever the results had been.

Thank you for this blog, you never know who will take inspiration from it and it may  change their life too.

I am glad that you had the celebration  for Gary and it was great that so many could be graveside with you.  Carmen and RED were special to make that effort and that shows you how much they appreciated Gary and you. Stay cool in that hot weather, we had those temperatures when we lived at Narrandera and a night swim in our above ground pool was a real  blessing. 

Kev, nice to see an Aussie style wind powered water pumping windmill in your photo. Does it make a scraping noise like the ones out west of here? Love the rustic look of your garden.

How very sad suicide is. It is why I did Lifeline telephone counselling as one of my dear friends committed suicide over a debt he owed. Lifeline as a suicide prevention line probably saved a lot of people at the "just thinking about it" stage. We on this site have learned so much through our encounter with stroke as a survivor or caregiver and it has toughened us up and taught us to appreciate life just as it is. We have support here and that counts for a lot.

Nothing lasts forever, this embargo on moving state to state or country to country will pass too. Congratulations on your stroke anniversary.

We have cane toads in some parts of Australia but not here. I used to hear frogs in the swamp down the road but they covered the swamp with houses so no more frogs. They call that progress! You have had a busy week doing your odd jobs, keep up the good work.

ASHA, so💖 those unexpected visits from family.You have raised a thoughtful young man. Hope your husband had a good weekend. And that you enjoyed some mother and son time too. Good time for building those precious memories for when he is away from home and you are thinking of him.

Talking to a couple of older friends today and it seems going out is quite a strain on people of my age or older, particularly those who live alone. Why are we suddenly so timid? These are not weak or ill people but people I think of as still in the prime of life. It seems the Covid-19 virus has scared us into a kind of agraphobia. Not something I thought about as a consequence of a plague-like illness. So how do we get our confidence back?

I have been out twice this week, today to a morning tea that was supposed to last two hours and actually lasted four! This was the Stroke Recivery group and I think we have all missed each other's company so much we were reluctant to leave without saying what we wanted to say to each other. It was a great event for me as I recognised other people needs are different from mine. Reminding me I do need to be less selfish and be there for others.

Sarah, the Covid virus has put so much of our lives on hold. I think for me it has been a break from an over busy life but I have been feeling VERY lonely not all the time but sometimes for a few days at a time. I understand your needs and returning to Colorado to honour Gary, even if with so few people present will put your mind at rest. Sending you a hug and all my love. Sue.

I used to really kick out at changes in my life as you know but now as I age I tend to think okay I have coped with worse and wait to see what will happen. It is wisdom born of pain as the song says. So maybe we do waste a lot of time being anxious and worried and angry but we are human and frail and often uncertain both about life and our own ability to deal with it. We do learn but it is a slow process.

The greenhouse looks wild! The late frost is a downer but happens to farmers everywhere. Glad you found a comedy you liked, Aussie humour isn't to everyone's taste but if you get it you get it. I must look up Douglas. I think all cope with the Corona with a routine, ours is disintegrating now  as we are relaxing the restrictions but so far going back to our old routines is not possible and I am not sure I want to anyway.

Home grown tomatoes, ripened to perfection are so special. Congratulations both for the produce and your other achievements. It's terrific that you can stand up without support and put your pants on. Bravo!!!'

You have a great man there, wish him a very happy birthday from me and give him an extra hug because he is so special. He has been your champion as well as your mentor and that is better than any other quality you could wish for. Congratulations to you both for raising a great son as well.

Can't understand why more people don't use a blog as an online journal. You can have it private or public. I am glad yours is public and we can all see your growing crop and the effort you put into everything you do. 

I must admit that I was once like you striving for higher goals. Then Ray had the strokes and life was more about survival under the new circumstances. I wanted life to improve, Ray to improve, wanting the best life possible. Then he had more strokes. Then I realised life might be worse tomorrow not better. It was then I began to journey towards looking at each day as a possibly "happiest day of my life" and life improved because happiness was my goal not success. Great blog ASHA.

I  can't believe that an active mind like yours will be bored for long. I am bored too so looking for new projects to do. I am sewing up a single bed size rug made up of 36 large crochetted squares so that is two or three hours work. Then back to pruning and weeding garden beds. So finding something worthwhile to do is the next step. If you have that  interest time just flies by.

Isolation is hard, I have been home for most of the past nine weeks. I of course can go out into my garden and shopping once a week and  cannot imagine how much harder it is for you with just a room. The attitude of the nurse who refused to help you does show how scared some people are of this virus. It is hard on you that she wouldn't help you, she should have stayed at home instead of coming to work and NOT working. Glad you spent that time with your son on the phone, just to hear a human voice makes so much difference. I hear the four kids playing in their yard next door and that lifts my heart. One day this will be over and another chapter of our life will begin.

Thank you Pam, I do,wonder if I want to go back to that busy life again. But there is always work to do in a church and too few hands to do it so that doesn't change or my involvement in Lions. But in a way I have enjoyed leisure to direct each day in the way I want to and that has been good. I know you do not have that option and admire you for your courage in living your life within its restrictions. Keep safe, be well and keep on doing what you are doing.

Heather, a lot of younger people I know are working from home, the ones finding it difficult are the ones who are home schooling as well. The main exercise around here seems to be walking the dog although my next door neighbours on both sides use the beach for exercise, one surfing, one running. I am glad you still have rehab, that is important. The groups I miss most are coffee and chat groups so that is not happening, hard with only ten people in coffee shops and no sitting in the food courts until stage three. All we can do is keep busy and keep going. I zoomed with two different groups yesterday, not as good as personal contact but better than nothing.

I share my produce unwillingly with possums and brush turkeys, cockatoos love the orange trees and various nectar eaters and parrots devour any thing that has green tips. So I throw shade cloth and various forms of netting available over whatever is edible.

As Heather said we are all shocked by the horror stories. Hard to believe in the goodness of the human race when the bad people get all the publicity. Lots of wonderful people in the world, including yourself, concentrate your thinking on them.

Asha I am glad your kiddo makes you happy and proud. Being a doctor will enable him to make a difference but don't forget your part in bringing him to where he is today, you are a very special mother.

We mothers are far too busy to rule the world Bill. Thanks for the kind thoughts though.