I was going to talk about all sorts this week which BTW seems to have flown by let concorde, OK so some people don’t know what concorde was, it was a very very fast plane that became very famous. It doesn’t fly anymore and is probably a fancy hotel somewhere. And that’s how fast this week has gone. Anyway, my thoughts for this weeks mutterings was going to be about herbs and how they can make a difference to your mental wellbeing, then it was going to be about exercise and getting back on the treadmill for a bikini body that I have craved for the last 30 years!!!! But I’ve ended up thinking about family and friends and the importance of being surrounded by loved ones, the people who know you inside out, they love and accept you for your good and bad points. They don’t care if you’ve brushed your teeth or if you’ve lost weight or not, or if your house is tidy. They care if you’re happy and if you’re OK and healthy. Although my family will tell me off for not brushing my teeth and I would expect them to.

Family is a funny one isn’t it because we’re stuck with them whether we like them or not and we don’t always like them but they’ll always be there. I’m so lucky because I have an amazing family, I might not see them for a few years but I speak to them all the time, we all know each other because we’ve known each other all our lives and we have memories of ‘the old days’ when we were children and we still laugh about those days every time we get together and they’re still funny and still great memories. As I age and lose my mind I’m pretty sure when I’m old and decrepid I’ll still be laughing at the same things. I also know that when I lose a family member I’ve have lost a part of myself because through blood that person is and always will be a part of me.

Friends is a completely different part of family and equally as amazing, again I am so very lucky that I’ve got amazing friends, friends that have been part of my family forever and these are the ones who know what’s going on in my mind. They will give me what I need, whether that’s a damn good ticking off or a hug and I bloody love them and couldn’t imagine my life without them.

This all makes me feel for those people who don’t have the same social group that I have and I don’t know how these people get by day by day. Who do they share their worries, fears and happy moments with? How did they get to the loneliness? And do they want to stay in that place or would they love to move out and be a part of a group of friends? I remember as a child the lady next door was the tiniest lady, she was utterly beautiful and kind, she had family who visited fairly regularly so she wasn’t alone but her husband had died many years before we knew her and it was part of our week to knock on her door and check on Auntie Daisy, she’d nearly always have a cake and a cup of tea ready and it was a lovely thing to install into a child to check on the neighbours and I think this is something we need to have back in our society. We can all learn so much from the elderly or the lonely, the elderly have been war veterans, teachers, parents, farmers and the list goes on. The lonely? who knows? What I’m saying here is that everyone has a history that can and should (if appropriate) be shared and carried to future generations. So please knock on a neighbours door and check they are OK, do they need anything from the shop? Have they had a hot drink or meal? Have a chat and maybe a laugh or a cry but really nobody should feel as though there’s nobody there for them.

Almost on this final note this weekend saw my youngest daughter trying on wedding dresses, the most beautiful experience that made me cry as I see my wonderful little girl as a bride is a dream come true, she is literally perfect.

Have a lovely week all and please remember to check on a neighbour. I’d love to hear stories from anyone who has done as I do. TBH I’m probably a pain for some of my neighbours always saying hi, how are you and isn’t it a lovely day? or the weathers a bit rubbish today 🙂