Spreading your wings.

One of the wonders of the Internet is the way in which you can find out things from the comfort of your own home. you can sit comfortably in your favourite chair and, if the cat will let you, have your laptop on your knees while browsing the world wide web or even doing your shopping. But be careful, the combination of the last point I mentioned plus a credit card can be lethal! Another advantage is being able to communicate and share with people all over the world, by writing a blog for instance. I can see that my blogs have been viewed as far afield as America and Australia with a fluttering in Russia! It's incredible to think that within minutes of my publishing a blog, someone in another country, that would take me hours to fly to, can be reading something that I've written. Of course the younger generation who've grown up with this phenomenon, probably don't even give it a thought!

Talking of flying, (see what I did there), this picture was shared on Facebook by on of my lupie friends. As is my wont, this got me thinking! The Irish boy band, Westlife released a single 'Flying Without Wings'. This sounds great but is actually completely impossible for us as human beings, or for birds too, come to think of it! Even our feathered friends have to spread their wings, to fly! But I digress.

How does that relate to you and me? Well to begin with, we don't have wings: fact! We don't start off as eggs to be hatched and then be fed worms by our exhausted avian parents: fact. We do however, come to the point where we have to 'fly the nest' or even just 'spread our wings' and make our own way in life. By my reckoning, there are at least 2 occasions in our lives when we have to do that!

Leaving home for the first time is one of them. There can be many reasons for this, going to college or university, moving away for a new job, getting married or more commonly these days, moving in together! The reasons are endless, but for whatever reason, it happens to us all at some point. It can be a frightening, exhilarating and daunting experience. When you're young you think that the world is your oyster and even staying in grotty student digs is considered fun! But hopefully it is a time of excitement too as it gives you the opportunity to follow your dreams.

Another time we may fly the nest doesn't necessarily require a physical leaving of a place. I've found that now my sons have left home I'm having the opportunity to spread my wings. This didn't happen at once. Like a lot of mums I went through the empty nest syndrome, where I felt bereft and at a loss as to what to do with myself. But now I'm discovering the joys of being able to do what I want, when I want! I got married at the tender age of 22 and had never even been on a pub crawl. I think that I'm probably too old for that now, but I'm having fun trying new experiences and rediscovering hobbies and activities I enjoyed pre-children. Who would have thought that at my age I'd take up Zumba and Street Dance and started writing a blog........


Starting this blog was definitely a case of me taking a leap of a cliff and hoping I would fly, so to speak. I could have taken up knitting again, but where's the fun in that! Mind you my first grandchild has arrived, so maybe I should be knitting! The trouble is I don't have time to knit. I find it quite funny that I'm getting my freedom back just as my son is about to lose his! I'm the same age as my gran was when I was born and to me she always an old lady, with her snowy white hair and wrinkles. Thanks to the miracle of modern beauty products, I'm holding back time a bit. I want my grandchildren to remember me as fun and as long as my health holds out, willing to try new things and have adventures with them.

Perhaps I'll be able to help them learn how to spread their wings.

Growing older doesn't mean that life is over! We are blessed to be living at a time when anything is possible, (within reason). A woman in her 90's did a tandem sky dive a while back! If like me you're in your prime but aren't living your life to the full why not give it a go? What have you got to lose?

Think back to when you were young. What were your dreams and ambitions? Why not take steps to fulfil even just one of them. You're not dead yet!

Life can be an adventure but not if you don't get out there and join in. I did and I'm having fun!