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Showing posts from May, 2019

A new perspective in grief

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Typically, the beginning of a new year has always prompted in me a fresh resolve to begin or recommit to a resolution that fell by the wayside long ago; usually a casualty of the inevitable hurly burly of life and the big beautiful mess that it so often is. The turning over of a brand new calendar page will evoke in me an optimism for the year that lies ahead. I am an optimist at heart and therefore am hopeful that a new year will be a little better. Summer has naturally been a time to take stock and plan for the year ahead.  However, this year I’ve approached things very differently. The events of the past 18 months have left on me a big heart wound. Last year was filled with so much sadness and grief, one does not simply turn the page and move on as if all that was in the past has no lasting impact on the present. While the end of a year naturally brings to a conclusion some things, feelings and emotions are a little more elusive to box up. Rather than resolving to do and be someth
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The Hilarious Parallels between Exercise and Parenting

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This week, I had the most embarrassing and challenging experience I’ve had for a while; one which reminded me a little of my parenting experience. It’s been a number of years since I went regularly to an exercise class, but with my recent flare up of back pain I thought it time to be more disciplined with exercise that helps me. Having looked around at all the classes available, I chose to try one called Body Balance; a mixture of pilates, yoga and tai chi. While I had never tried anything like this before, a friend highly recommended it and so I thought, ”There’s no harm in giving it a trial.”  Due to my previous experience of pilates, I was anticipating an hour of physically tough, but slowly paced exercises that worked on my core strength, and an instructor who took you through the different positions carefully; allowing you to go at your own pace, and giving help when needed. Someone who was sensitive to each individual’s capabilities. My past experience did nothing to prepare me f
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Defeat is not an option

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  It started with some fabric. The idea being, that instead of buying a ready-made tablecloth, I would instead purchase some gorgeous fabric at a nice price, and then have the pleasure of sewing it up myself. I would never claim to be skilled at sewing, but I once sewed a pair of pyjama shorts, so how hard could four long, straight lines be? My enjoyment in being creative far outstrips my ability, so I am not easily put off from the challenge of mastering something new (how I imagine the end result, is motivation enough to attempt it). However, my latest project in home-made creations has had me quite undone. It quickly went from a leisurely afternoon of sewing, to a battle of wills. Woman vs Machine…the machine wins.  I had borrowed, for the project, my Mother’s 40 year old sewing machine (as my infrequent usage does not warrant owning one). Time had lapsed since my last sewing adventure, so a careful perusal of the manual was the first thing I did. Having read the manual, I procee
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