Radio announcers, Rumsfeld the RAT, relationships

Brew of the day:
Rose and chamomile ~ LOVE tea!!

Life feels much brighter this week since I’ve kept away from mainstream media. I did, however, have an email advertising a wonderful device! A bumper helmet for toddlers learning to walk. Now you can rest assured that your little one won’t crack his skull open. Good lord, whatever next? How did humanity survive for so long without such inventions?

And in the USA parents can outsource the potty training and bike riding of their children. Apparently the average parent takes 2 – 3 weeks to help their child learn to ride a bike unaided but an expert can teach your child in 2 hours!! And don’t make the mistake of thinking it could only happen in America. It’ll be in other countries before we know it. One of my most precious father/daughter childhood memories is of learning to ride my little bike without training wheels. The absolute delight I felt when I realised my Dad was no longer supporting the bike and I could do it on my own is something I can still feel to this day 35 years later. Why would ANY parent want to pass on something like this to someone else? Again I find myself living in No man’s Land shaking my head in disbelief. Why are people so out of touch with what children need?

Rumsfeld: What was I saying last week about the only benefit to vaccination was the cash which lined certain people’s pockets? Found the following info on the noticeboard at my chiropractic clinic yesterday: Secretary of Defence Donald Rumsfeld earnt more than $5 million dollars from selling his shares in the firm that discovered and developed Tamiflu (the drug of choice once Avian Flu takes over). He also retains shares worth $25 million or more. Tamiflu is bought in mass quantities by the government in order to treat a predicted outbreak of flu.

Radio Announcers:
Last Sunday was the 11th anniversary of my first kiss with Paul. I always consider it our true anniversary rather than our wedding day. At the time we met Paul worked as a breakfast radio announcer. A woman in my community warned me off him on the basis that all radio announcers had huge egos. Yeah, well, I’m sure a good chunk of them do….what with loads of women lured along by their sexy voices (let me warn you if you’ve been lusting after one ~ there is a good reason why most of these men are on radio rather than tv)…anyway, I’m glad I followed my intuition and didn’t get swayed by her. Of all the people I’ve ever met, Paul has the least ego.

There is a saying that ‘you don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone’. A song too, I think? Maybe that’s true for most people. I don’t need my relationship to end before I can fully see what I’ve got! I begin and end each day in Paul’s loving arms. I’m painfully aware that one or other of us could have our life force snuffed out at any time. I need to live in the present moment and to always be grateful for what I do have while I have it ~ always and eternally grateful for the thousands of times he’s showed me kindness, tenderness, love. Grateful that our paths ever crossed. I can’t imagine how different my life would be without him. He’s shaped me enormously and his ongoing ability to make me laugh or bring a smile to my face (even when I’m mega pissed off with something)…well, it’s like living with an angel (in a good way!). It’s like having my own guardian angel walk hand in hand with me through life.

Last year at this time we had a *renewal of our vows* ceremony which we shared with friends. Paul said that for all the trials and the difficult moments life had brought our way (little did we know at that time how much worse 2005 was gonna get!! YUK) he’d rather go through all that again with me at his side than to have it all plain sailing and to have to live life without me. I didn’t manage to come up with anything as profound as that during the ceremony but I certainly feel the same as him in this respect.

Other relationships:
Have had a low-grade mourning lately (well, for a few years now!!) at the lack of intimate friendships in my local community. We’ve been here seven years and still nothing. Nothing that would make it painful for me to move to the ends of the Earth in a nano second. I often think it must be me …and then I think of the close friendships I do have ~ some of which are long term. They’re amazing women and I’m honoured to have them in my life. I love them to bits and trust them with my life. Just wish they weren’t so darn far away or spread across the globe. As I age though, I find I’m becoming further left of centre (is that possible?). I was talking to someone this week that I really admire ~ a real gem of a lady ~ who isn’t a native of this area either. She’s also found it hard to make friendships here in Cumbria. I looked at her disbelievingly. She is truly one of the loveliest people I know and if people are rejecting her then I can only think it must be ‘this place’.

One thing I’ve long observed here is that the locals have their family and childhood friends and have no need to extend outside of themselves ~ so they don’t. No surprise then that those I have connected with at any level aren’t originally from Cumbria. The locals call us ‘incomers’ as if we’ve brought some disease. I find the men of Cumbria even harder to fathom than the women. They don’t talk, they grunt. And they don’t make eye contact either.

Ramona Rebecca: Happy birthday little sis!! Enjoy that bright and brilliant Aussie sunshine.

Rural Life:
Just peeped out the window and there is a whisper of mist across the valley. A stunning Spring day awaits ~ once the girls wake up we’ll have a family walk and take in the beauty of the hills and valley. Have a lovely week.