Monday, 21 June 2010

Reflections

As part of the foundation degree in counselling that I'm undertaking, I am required to receive 20 hours of personal therapy. 20 hours! That's a lot. My wise counsellor set me homework the other week. I had to read the journals that I had written over the years. I've kept a journal for more than 20 years now, so this is no small undertaking!!

It was surreal to read what I had written all those years ago, about the trials of being a teenager! Some of it is so trivial I can't believe I actually wasted time, paper and ink on them. Some entries are...well..not trivial.

It was brought home to me just how different I am from the teenager who wrote in those journals all those years ago, but some things remain.

I remain grateful for the gospel in my life, even if it isn't as new to me as it was then. I'm grateful for my friends and family for their love and support, and for all that they've taught me.

What really stood out, though, was that I have always been watched over. At every stage in my life when I needed something, someone was put in my way to help. Some of these people know what influence they've been (because I've told them) and others don't know or realise just how much they helped when I needed it most. I'm eternally grateful to all those who have helped shape me and enabled me to move forward.

After Jason died, I listened to one song a lot - Flowers never bend with the rainfall, by Simon and Garfunkel. So, in their words, I'll continue to continue.

Tuesday, 8 June 2010

Simple things and stupidity


I once knew a man in Stafford who told us that he was amazed at his own brilliance - and he meant it! Well, this week, I have occasionally been amazed at my own stupidity! There are too many stories to go into detail, but I will tell you about one.
I decided that we would upgrade our subscription to hd. This was a relatively simple thing to do, all we had to do was order the box and connect it ourselves, which we managed to do in about 5 minutes. It's great, and the picture is really sharp! We were very pleased!
The time came to put the box into the space left for it in the tv unit, right on top of the dvd player. There was only a small hitch - the box was too big for the space. It looked rediculous perched on top of the unit. It took us about an hour to decide what to do. We'd move that unit into the hall. The shelves that were in the hall would go into the bedroom, and the bookcase that was in the bedroom would come into the living room to hold the tv, boxes, dvd player, dvds etc. When the time came to commence the moving, about 2 hours later, I decided to have one last go at the simpler things, like putting the box somewhere else. That didn't work. We were ready to get everything ready, when I said,'As one last go, why don't we slide the tv down a bit to see if that makes room?' It took me 3 HOURS to come up with the solution that normal people would have come up with in about 30 seconds!
At least we saved ourselves the hassle of the big move!
Painting the hall this week - can't wait to see what gems that throws at us!!