One of the facts of getting older is how time just seems to fly by. This year for me has flown especially fast. I recently looked back at some of the older posts on my blog and was shocked to realise that it's been five years since I started writing it. At the time I had no idea of some of the incredible and fun things that I was going to write about; from paragliding off a 1,700ft high mountain in Turkey, to singing the
Messiah in the
Royal Albert Hall in London. There's been highs as well as lows, but that's life, and as I've said before, the bad times make the good ones even more special. After all, it is the,
'Sunshine after the rain', that creates a rainbow.
This year has had it's challenges. In March, on my birthday, I finally had the surgery I'd been waiting over a year for. Like many women of a certain age, I had developed a prolapse. I hadn't realised how common this was until I began telling people that I needed the operation and I couldn't believe how many women then confessed that, either they had had the operation or needed one. It seems to be one of those taboo subjects, like the menopause, that nobody likes to talk about. I'm happy to report that my being open about my surgery has encouraged a couple of friends and acquaintances to agree to having the surgery. But isn't that one of the things that life's about; helping and encouraging each other?
Recently, amid all the doom and gloom of bad news that seems to dominate the news these days, I had a lovely experience that made me realise that there are kind and caring people out there. Over the past few months, I've been experiencing a bit of a flare-up of my lupus. This has manifested itself as pain in my joints and my lower back. On this particular day I'd popped into town for a few items of shopping. I'd been told by the doctor that I shouldn't carry anything heavy, but on this occasion I bought more than I had intended and as a result had two heavy bags of shopping to carry home. As I was struggling along, I met a young woman who used to be one of my neighbours. Despite the fact that she wasn't going my way, she insisted on walking home with me and carrying the heaviest of the two bags. I was so touched by this act of kindness. I must confess that the pain I'd been experiencing had started to get me down and this cheered me up no end.
Another incident had happened earlier that same day that also helped to lift my spirits. I had the pleasure of doing a
Downton Abbey tour for a delightful group of ladies from the
USA. They were visiting Cogges as part of a trip organised by a company called, '
Friends on the Fly', which was the brainchild of
'two ladies of a certain age', a bit like myself, who had set up the company after retiring, one from teaching and the other from selling antiques. They realised that there are a number of ladies who are on their own, either because of bereavement, divorce or some other reason, who want to travel, but don't want to go on their own. So these two enterprising ladies, decided to set up a company that organises trips for small groups of women, to enable anyone in that position to get out there and see the world. I found this inspirational on two levels. One, because it was such a brilliant idea, and two, because it just goes to show that you're never too old to start a new adventure. This, after all, was one of the reasons I started my blog, but I'd lost my way a bit on that score this year.
So now I'm re-energised and determined to get back on track. I may have to re-think the type of adventure I can participate in because of my health issues. But it's a big world out there, with lots of different types of experiences to participate in. I'm currently rehearsing to sing the
Messiah in the
Royal Albert Hall again this year and I've started the final module of my
Open University degree, which means that I'll hopefully have a graduation to look forward to next year.
Meanwhile, if anyone has any suggestions for any adventures I could consider, please let me know, because,
'Magic does happen when you don't give up.'
Photos,
Magic happens,
http://ow.ly/FA9g30g5Z6q
Friends on the fly, a photo of their business card.
Royal Albert Hall, from previous blog post.
Isabel Johnstone 2017 ©
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