And so, Cinderella, you shall go to the Ball...

Invitations were sent out many months ago following Chris’ famous proposal having completed his Atlantic crossing. As big sister, Charlotte was to have an important part in proceedings. And nothing could get in the way of that. Not even breast cancer. Least of all breast cancer.

Out of our adversity, our strength is garnered and becomes realised. The last seven months have comprised something of a rollercoaster. Time has taken on a whole new dimension. Life is not what it was. It is precious. It is sacred. Emotions are not what they were. They have been intensified, amplified, and are suddenly very real and very loud.

And that’s just from my perspective... Looking through the window I do. This story has no ugly sisters, but there is a destructive alien that has had to be put in its place which has taken more than a few fairy godmothers.

Thankfully, Charlotte is not short of fairy godmothers. And her would-be Buttons is well up to the job. This weekend they boarded their own pumpkin (leaving the trusty tandem at home) and travelled to celebrate her sister’s big day. Nothing could stop her. Not even breast cancer. Least of all breast cancer. Whilst this is far from a fairytale, there is much happiness to be discerned, if we take time to look around us.

"Even miracles take a little time"

Cinderella's Fairy Godmother

Comments

Table. Apple. Penny.

Whilst there were several places I might have been that morning, I wouldn't have been anywhere else. The practitioner from the Memory Service arrived promptly. I liked her instantly. Mum was nervous. I think I was a little, too. It's been a difficult year. "It's Friday, it's the fourteenth of December and I'm at home..." No problems there. CAMCOG, or the Cambridge Cognitive Examination is a thorough assessment tool used to assess the extent of extent of dementia, and to assess the level of cognitive impairment. The standardised measure assesses orientation, language, memory, praxis, attention, abstract thinking, perception and calculation. "Table. Apple. Penny." Three everyday items that were introduced at one point, and then referred to again later on. Again, Mum was able to recall each. I am reminded that the...

Glass half full? Glass half empty? Or perhaps the glass is broken

I am, constitutionally, a glass half empty gal. I will always first acknowledge what I don't have, what I have lost, and what it is that I am seeking. I tend to overlook my strengths, concentrating only on those bits of me that are underdeveloped or weak. I refer to myself as a realist, but in doing so compliment myself and insult those who genuinely are simply realistic. My modus operandi is to identify what's not working and acknowledge this before seeing more clearly what functions perfectly well. This has its place: I edit others' written work pretty well. My fastidious attention to detail serves me, and the author. Accuracy counts, for me and I have an excellent memory. I can remember a great many of my sessions with clients verbatim. Even this asset is something I can, and do, diminish the true value of, by concentrating on 'I should have said...' or 'why didn't.... occur to me during the session?' Earlier this we...

Joan Miro: Emotional Art

"Painting and poetry are like love; an exchange of blood, a passionate embrace, without restraint, without defence. The picture is born of an overflow of emotions and feelings." Miro, The Farm 'La Masia' (1921-22) I learnt a great deal about Miro on a recent visit to the Tate. I learnt a great deal about a lot more too. Miro wanted to discover the sources of human feeling. He described his method of creating poetry by way of painting, using a vocabulary of signs and symbols, metaphors and dream images to express definite themes he believed to be fundamental to human existence. The exhibition displays his sense of humor and lively wit. His chief concern was a social one; he wanted to get close to the great masses of humanity, and he was convinced that art can only truly appeal when it resonates with roots of lived experience. "Wherever you are, you find the sun, a blade of grass, the spirals of the dragonfly. Courage cons...

The Reward is the Journey

Search This Blog