During a long awaited lunch with a girlfriend, we chatted non stop about our lives, it had been months since we had seen each other so there was much ground to cover. The latest gossip from work and home, recent conversations with our significant others and life in general. Her birthday was looming and she listed the current plans she …
Heat Waves and Hissy Fits
Nothing quite like a summer holiday to revive and refresh – June and July were so hectic, they whizzed by in a blur. After the Pink concert mid June, came Fathers Day, Sports Day, then my daughters gymnastics showcase, her birthday and subsequent birthday party; that we had to push back a week just to fit it in. In the …
Testing the boundaries
One of the burdens of an invisible illness is that it only affects you. The weight of the now and future of it all is heavy and all consuming but adjacent to you, sitting right next to you, is absolutely fine and dandy. For now, I can hide my condition and I choose to keep my diagnosis a secret …
5 Years
Usually anniversaries are occasions to celebrate but I have a tough time with today’s significance. Today 12th March marks 5 years to the day I was told I had RP (Retinitis Pigmentosa), again. This time the diagnosis was accurate and this time, it was going to happen. The ’it’ being sight loss. 5 years ago I had no idea what …
Just breathe and don’t limp
When my birthday month began, I honestly felt like I had bitten off more than I could chew. I went through a “Just say yes” period earlier in the year and although that was fun, all of my commitments landed in these 5 weeks. My biggest obligation was to my parents. They celebrated their 40th Wedding Anniversary this month and …
Sunsets and the Sizzler
My family has just recently returned from a short break on the coast. It was so lovely to get away from the daily grind and have a complete change of scenery. The weather was perfect and my daughter got to experience some more firsts on holiday too.. It can be tough when part of me wants to keep her close …
Virtual Coffee
Last year I took part in an amazing Wellbeing initiative set up by Retina UK. During this time I spent several Friday mornings chatting candidly to an awesome woman who is over 200 miles away from me. We became good friends during those hours of honesty and vulnerability and I was thrilled when her name appeared in my WhatsApp messages …
72 Hours
One word to describe the start of 2023. Brutal. Our Christmas was plagued by illness with me copping the worst of it. I was ill from Christmas Eve right through to New Years Day – delightful. Head into January and with 6 weeks to go until we were officially homeless, we finally find a house. A bittersweet reality as this …
Rebellious Heart
As I bid farewell to November, my lovely autumnal birthday month; I turn to December with excitement and nervousness. Our Christmas tree is up and fairy lights inside and out are aglow. As we mark our last Christmas in the home we became a family in, everything feels bittersweet. Right now I’m focusing very much on our Christmas together and …
Hello September
Last week was a rude awakening. After six weeks of sleepy late mornings and late nights, the summer holidays are officially over. I loved every minute of it! The beach days, adventure playgrounds, play dates, sailing, animal feeding, wildlife parks, bowling, zip lines, swimming, fairgrounds and way too much ice cream; the summers when children are young are awesome! …