Short and Sometimes Sweet

"Do not Dwell in the Past, Do Not Dream of the Future, Concentrate the Mind on the Present Moment" Just thought I would update my friends on what's been happening lately. Some might have noticed that I'm not online as much as I used to be. It's been a mixture of being ill, being on new meds, and being a bit fed up with the negativity I see. It's strange, sometimes no matter how hard you try to let stuff go, it gets to you. Especially when your spirit might feel a bit battered and bruised. Only thing for it is to take a step back and get your head clear. So my health hasn't been great and my fight to be heard has been long and tiring. The latest round of tests have shed a little more light on the subject. One of the things will mean surgery, but I'm putting that off for now to concentrate on the main focus. My symptoms, varied as they are, all put together have pointed to one thing. Multiple Sclerosis. I have been started on meds to control spa

The Ghost of Christmas Past "Christmas isn't a season. It's a feeling." Christmas is nearly upon us once again, and in this time of violence and bombing it seems as if the 'season of goodwill' is further away than ever. In the wake of the recent attacks all over the world, there will be many an empty space at the Christmas table. Indeed closer to home too there seems to be more homeless and poor people than ever, and governments are less and less likely to act on solutions, thus the problem is exacerbated year after year.  Recent media coverage of food banks etc made me think back to a long time ago, a memory that I had all but forgotten about, yet was still lurking there in the annals of my past.  When my boys were babies we lived in a basement flat. A hideous dark dank place that we did our best to keep nice. One morning we woke up to find the electrics had gone on fire. The mix of damp and dodgy had finally taken it's toll. No working

Staying Strong, Not giving up "If you live long enough, you'll make mistakes. But if you learn from them, you'll be a better person. It's how you handle adversity, not how it affects you. The main thing is never quit, never quit, never quit." I've been meaning to blog for ages and ages and just not found the time until now. It's difficult to think the last post was in June! Well I'm here now and that's what matters.  Some will know of my health issues but just to recap, I contracted sepsis in April 2014 from a seeming innocent sore on my chin; Since then I've had infection after infection. My health deteriorated and blood tests showed some liver and kidney damage, and very high levels of reticulocytes. These are immature red blood cells, usually a sign of something sinister. I've been referred to a blood specialist, and I've been waiting a while for an appointment. I'm having more tests and more tests and still nothing sp

" You cannot control what happens to you, but you can control your attitude toward what happens to you, and in that, you will be mastering change rather than allowing it to master you ." Life. It's what happens while all the other crap is going on, and recently I've found out that this is more true than I could have imagined. Married young, had children young, brought them up as best we could. I couldn't be prouder of my children, though now they're adults. They've had their moments, as have I but we've come through and now have a wonderful if unusual relationship. My mum taught me well in the art of knowing when to interfere and when to step back and let them make their own mistakes. They've always known where their soft place to fall is and they've used it to good effect. Change is inevitable, and when I became separated over a year ago I thought that was a big enough change to last me a lifetime. It was a sad time, but had been in th

Vote Yes  "How can you go wrong with two people in love? If a good boy loves a good girl, good. If a good boy loves another good boy, good. And if a good girl loves the goodness in good boys and good girls, then all you have is more goodness, and goodness has nothing to do with sexual orientation." Fiona Apple Discrimination........ In all it's shapes and forms drives me mad. In my professional life and in my personal life I try to be as inclusive and open minded as I possibly can. This is why the up coming referendum in Ireland regarding Marriage is important to me. I am very much in the 'yes' camp. Since the beginning of the campaign there has been a lot of untruths posted by those in the 'no' camp. I respect others opinions btw, and don't expect everyone to think the way I do. If you are voting no, that's fine. It's your choice. But there have been so many untruths and pure lies spread by the no camp that I felt I had to say som

"I f you want to be loved, be lovable." It's been a very busy time for me since my last blog post, so I thought I would update it. I'm still struggling with my Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and all my other bits and pieces, while trying to look after my business and my family and my friends. It's not easy, but then who said it would be? I'm the type of person that always tries to think the best of people, to look for the best in them and to try not judge.I don't like it when people judge me, and when they're rude to me so I do my best to be nice and to be open minded. In the past few weeks I've dealt with a lot. People who I've gone to the ends of the earth for, paid for stuff for, gave them any and every chance I could, and they've thrown it back in my face. Either by bitching about me behind my back, dissing my business, blaming me for for things that are not my fault, well, the list is endless. I've had people who were meant to b

"Beware of false knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance." Having recently been diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, I find I have to plan and prepare myself as much as possible for nights out etc. It can be very difficult to stay in all the time, and I get cabin fever quite often. Most times the best I can manage is the short walk to my local. How CFS effects me mostly right now is in my legs. I can't describe to you the actual weariness and drained feelings CFS brings, and no amount of rest really makes a difference. Recently my legs have been feeling the worst of it, and what happens is they simply won't work. Which can be inconvenient to say the least. As a result of this, I was finding that I was falling down stairs quite often. Quite scary for someone with brittle bones. At home I can rest or stay upstairs, so access to the bathroom is not such an issue. But if I'm out, and the bathroom is upstairs, this can cause a major problem. My local pu

                                 "To be trusted is a greater compliment than being loved."                                                              George MacDonald It's been a while, I've been keeping busy and some days are just not long enough. A lot has happened since I blogged last, some of which you know, some of which is private for now. I have been reading a lot about catfish accounts on twitter and other social networks. I was amazed at how often this happens, and also amazed at some people's reactions when they or someone they know gets fooled by one. It got me thinking about the concept of trust, and how it's actually more painful to have your trust broken by someone close to you than it is to be dumped by someone you love. They are both intrinsically linked, but not necessarily the same. In this age of long distance relationships, be it romantic or otherwise, trust is a basic yet important ingredient. I am a great believer in truth.

Be happy for this moment. This moment is your life. This is my first post since November, mostly because I've been busy and unwell. It's sod's law in a way. My business has never been so busy. I'm turning children away because my classrooms are full. A good complaint, but makes the 'not well' days seem even worse if I'm honest. The frustration I feel at not being able to do what I have to do is beyond description. I rarely make plans and when I do I sometimes have to cancel at the last minute and it drives me mad. I'm especially upset at missing rugby games. I know however that it won't last forever. I know I will get better. I know I have people who love me, and keep me going no matter what. I have learned to not be sad. I know that sounds weird, and sometimes we can't help being sad when something bad happens, but I'm learning to know the difference between being tired, being in pain and being genuinely down. You know, if you feel