Hello to anyone reading my erratic little blog.  For those of you who celebrate Christmas, I hope you had a lovely day however it was spent.  I think for many of us, the aim is to enjoy some time with our loved ones. 

I worked Christmas Day and Boxing Day this year which was a first for me. I’m now living 1350 km’s away from my family so it was the first time ever I have been away from family.  I exchanged text messages with them all before I headed off to work, not quite the same as phone calls but given we were all getting ready to be somewhere else, it worked for the meantime.

My sons all got together at home for breakfast with their wives, girlfriends and children.  One of my sons managed to get everyone together and take a photo of them all which they then emailed to my work.  It absolutely made my day!!  The seemingly little things can have such a big heartfelt impact.

Work was rather quiet as it turned out, so I managed to have a productive planning day before heading home to enjoy a brief rest then going to a friend’s place for dinner.  Their home was warm and welcoming, with Christmas decorations about, their dog was extremely excited to see me and with some festive food for dinner, it felt a little more like Christmas for me.  She and I later sat in the pool, which was more like a big warm bath, for an hour or so and chatted about anything and everything. 

I came home and was able to speak with one of my sons by phone and another friend called to wish me Merry Christmas, so it rounded out my day nicely.  Even though I physically wasn’t able to be with my loved ones, it still felt like I’d enjoyed their presence during the day.

I felt very blessed as I have two friends who find this time of year difficult due to each losing a child just before Christmas in recent years.  This year in Australia, we also saw a rather horrific lead up to Christmas with a siege in Sydney where two people lost their lives and later the same week, 8 children were murdered by a woman who was mother to 7 and aunt to the 8^th. 

My workplace was very affected by this as one of the children was the niece of a colleague.  Then I had word this morning (Boxing Day here) that another colleague lost her partner to cancer in the very early hours.  It reminds me of how much I have to be truly grateful for and how important it is to appreciate every day.

Of course not all days are going to be good days, but I believe each day we wake up breathing is a new day, a blessing in itself and we have a whole 24 hours in which to find something that makes us smile and feel a sense of gratitude and happiness.  Even if things are not going so well, it may be something simple that we can appreciate. 

I generally tend to be a more positive type of person but there was a time when I didn’t always feel this way.  I eventually came to realise that my happiness was my own responsibility and a choice that I could make every day.  I choose to be happy and have a positive outlook on life. 

I know there is tough stuff, I’ve experienced it and no, it’s certainly not fun.  But when I spend time stuck in that or dwell on it for long periods of time, then I don’t feel good and it can sometimes be hard to move those feelings.

I was recently in New Zealand.  I travelled over alone and had a day or two where I would have loved some company, so was feeling a little flat.  I called my Mum to see how she was going.  My Mum is in the early-mid stages of dementia and is in a nursing home.  During a lucid moment, Mum was asking me about what I’d seen.  She knows how much I love NZ and then she said, next time you go over, can you please take me with you and show me all your favourite places.

This makes my eyes well up even to type it now.  I would so love to be able to do this but both Mum and I know it’s not going to happen as she is not well enough to manage such a trip.  Mum has wanted to go to NZ and England for as long as I can remember, yet here she is in the sunset years of her life with regrets for the things she didn’t find a way to do. 

I have had an awareness for some time now that I need to follow my dreams, do the things I want to do and not be put off because I’m a middle aged single woman, because life is way too short.  This conversation with Mum really struck a chord with me.  I could hear the grief and regret in her voice and I don’t want to get to the end of my life with those types of regrets.  It has made me all the more determined to actively work towards doing the things I want to do and seeing the places I want to see.  To find a way to make them happen.

So that is my little piece of wisdom for what it’s worth today.  Life is not a dress rehearsal, we only get one shot at it, so enjoy it as much as you can.  Soak up all the experiences, the good and the not so good, learn from them, grow from them, make new memories with those you care about, see the things you want to see and experience the things you want to experience. 

And in among all that, I wish you much happiness and joy!