Altered images and changing reflections

Another delicious bowl of soup. Ginger and chilli made it a winter triumph. Weekday suppers in Herne Hill are always good, and whilst the food is undeniably alluring, the company's unbeatable. I could hardly believe my ears when Charlotte casually mentioned the run she had done earlier. I almost choked when she told me how far she'd run and how quickly she'd done it.

This year has been bonkers. Everything suddenly turned upside down. And now it's returning to something of a new normal. Charlotte is getting fitter and faster. She could always run farther and faster than I can even imagine moving through space. I'm back in the pool and am looking forward to spending a fair amount of time in underwater over the holidays. I will be back on my bike in January. Charlotte and I have plotted to clock up a few miles in the spring.

So, Christmas is round the corner. Cards have been written and presents have been wrapped. The year is fading fast. And what a year it has been. Beginning in Hong Kong, it seems to have stretched for ever. But, at the same time, it's flown. Was it really 5 months ago that Charlotte was in chemo, preparing for surgery?

I've had my hair cut shorter than it's been for over ten years, and hers is growing back as thick as ever, with a little extra wave. Looking backwards, looking forwards. I'm standing still and enjoying the moment.

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...

Pausing in the sunshine

And so, chemo is over. My best friend's diary has been chocker... Line cleans, blood tests, scans and 18 weekly doses of the gruelling treatment itself. Summer seems at last to have arrived and with it, we hope, some time, peace and space. She is, we acknowledged over a rather yummy luncheon served to us beneath the beautiful canopy of creepers and climbers at Petersham Nurseries, an inspiration. A small group of us gathered to celebrate her forthcoming marriage. The sun's rays joined the warmth we all have for this very special woman. Warmth and, in my case at least, pride. It is the greatest privilege to call this woman my best friend. She continues to epitomise my understanding of grace. Our bodies are fragile things. Our minds are frailer still. In her composure and wisdom, she possesses an outlook I can only aspire to adopt. From you, dear Charlotte, I learn and I learn and I learn. The ...

The Reward is the Journey

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