Ichabod's Day

I have thought long and hard before writing this post. Partly  because by sharing this I am sharing something very personal and partly because I tend not to use this blog (my personal one) to share "serious" issues. So why am I about to share some very personal information you may ask? Well, given the circumstances and what has been happening to me over the last 9 weeks I feel I have a strong message and one that I want to make everyone aware of. So, what am I about to share? Well, nothing too revealing or salacious. Facebook friends may have an inkling on some of the status updates and link sharing I have been doing, and of course many close friends and family will know - 9 weeks ago today I was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes. It was a total shock!! Following a routine blood test I was called in to discuss the situation and was booked in for a glucose tolerance test. It was this test that confirmed the diagnosis. Apart from the shock, and the ineffective way that bad...

This weekend I took a long-planned for Road Trip down memory Lane with my sister (who is older than me by almost 5 years). As children we moved around a lot - on average every 2 years until I was 7 and my sister 12 which has meant that our formative memories are of many different houses, schools and areas. The older I get the more important it seems for me to have a clearer picture of my memories. Snippets of events I remember but they merge into each other, whereas my sister has a clearer memory of where things happened. I suppose you might say that I wanted the timeline of my early life to be in order! (Being such a control freak!). At times I often wondered if such things were memories that I had of things that really happened or whether over the years I had either dreamt them or just got a feel from old photographs and conversations of others. I have memories gong back to when I was 2 or 3 - and my sister, using me as a play thing, made me jump from a chair - in the process sma...

(Attributed to the Maori) The sky may be clouded, but ever the sun,  Will sweep on its course till the cycle is run. and when into chaos the system is hurled,  Again shall the Builder, rebuild a new world. Your path may be clouded, uncertain your goal,  Move on, for your orbit is fixed to your soul. And though may it lead you through darkness of night,  The torch of the Builder shall give it new light. You were, you will be,  Know this while you are,  Your spirit has travelled both long and afar, It rose from the source, to the Source it returns,  The spark which was lighted eternally burns. It slept in a jewel, it leapt in a wave,  It roamed in a forest, it rose from the grave. It took on strange garbs for long eons of years,  And now in the soul of yourself it appears. From body to body your spirit speeds on,  It seeks a new form when the old one has gone. And the form that it find...

As I embrace my half century I do so with a mixture of reflection, indifference, excitement and a need somehow to both wear the badge of maturity and prove that I am still not too old. Too old for what? I've no idea.  I have waited for this birthday for a while, preparing with a clear focus denied many of my other 'milestone' birthdays. I have stopped colouring my hair, I seem to have spent many occasions stating - "I'm nearly 50" in a tone clearly explaining that I am too old for this (whatever 'this' may be). I was quite looking forward to being old. As a teen - 50 was very old. I thought being 50 meant: a) I am nearer retirement than a new starter (although with the pension situation this may soon not be the case!) b) I was over half way through my life (I don't intend to live to being over 100) c) I could be left alone to "wear purple and eat sausages" as the poem  by Jenny Joseph suggests d) I thought I would be a ...

"The continuing adventures of Angela and Sarah..." Some of you will no doubt be aware of my trip last weekend to Belfast to visit the Titanic Museum recently opened - I particularly apologise to my Facebook friends who by now must be feeling bombarded with photos and links - but hey - here's some more!! The trip was organised in a very last minute way - feeling overly burdened with work over the last semester, my good friend Sarah and I decided that we needed a break. Initial thoughts turned to Ragdale Hall, visions of pampering, spa-ing and all round glowing filled our minds - then we saw the prices - ahem! we thought again!! On the news the previous evening I had seen a report about the Titanic Museum opening (it being the centenary of the launch and sinking of this memorable ship) and decided that I must go and see it. I have had a fascination with the Titanic since being a child and some of my latent excitement was released at the thought of 100 years commemor...

Paston Windmill in Norfolk - came up for sale a few weeks ago for £500,000 - need a lottery win please! Only now do I feel as if I have returned to a normality (well normality for me anyway!). Both the trials and tribulations of welcoming the new dog into the home, and the mad rush of the new semester have exhausted me and sent me into a parallel universe where the only things in existence were traffic jams, an office, a bed, bunting and a virtual world with which I have been engaging to research, teach, facilitate learning and deliver a 24 hour virtual knowledge exchange for Occupational Therapists around the world together with my esteemed colleagues in OT4OT. I seem to have a finger in so many pies at the moment that I think I have possibly  grown a few more upper limbs - just wish they were functioning so that more tasks could get completed! And whilst I am very pleased that people are beginning to hear of my bunting exploits and orders are slowly arriving - finding the t...