Sea slaps & friends

Sunday. My favourite day of the week. The past week hasn’t been one of my favourites. Not awful but it’s fair to say I haven’t been on top form since having a couple of small seizures and an overnight in hospital a few weeks ago. I know I’m luckier than many, but it was undoubtedly a confidence kicker and a set back, not least because it slowed down the speed at which I could get off the steroids. Plus the slight increase in anti seizure medication is making me tired...... or something is. Everything has just been the tiniest bit more difficult than it had been. 

Thankfully we’re becoming more adept at managing these small blips. For me it’s all about keeping busy but not too busy, surrounding myself in positivity and support, laughing, and getting plenty of rest. Balance.

In my world of synchronicities, as always, friends pop in with support at the best times! Family are always there too and are unbelievably intuitive.... knowing exactly what to do, when. 

On Friday I enjoyed a lovely lunch with a neighbour. Yesterday a fellow brain tumourette called unexpectedly with a beautiful gift - a very pretty bangle that has ‘carpe diem’ engraved on it. Today another friend, who’s been my friend for 30 years, went sea bathing with hubby and me. She brought me a framed, beautiful old photo of swimmers in the sea in the same place we go to every Sunday morning. A step back in time that shows how long people have been enjoying the benefits of being near and immersed in the ocean. 

And there are very definite benefits! Today’s sea bathe was a bit like getting beaten up..... waves were hitting us so hard you could literally hear the slap! And it was chilly.... not the water so much as the air. We laughed and laughed as wave after wave washed over us. Is there anything funnier than the anticipation of a comedy moment you know is coming?....... you can see the wave coming in, you can see it starting to rise up, you know it’s going to break over your head......you know you’re going to look like a fool....... Laughs all round! 

My friend who got me the photograph had recommended I read a book her husband loved. He’s a surfer. The book is called ‘Blue Mind’ by Wallace J. Nichols. I’m absolutely loving it. It explains our obsession with water. It even manages to provide some explanations for some of the more quirky things I’ve done over the past 19 months; such as the phase I went through where I wouldn’t wear any colour except blue! And my complete hankering to get to the beach and be in the sea. Seems it’s all to do with neural pathways and the like. The book perfectly meets my needs - scientific explanations alongside observations about the more ethereal feelings and emotions being near or immersed in water can elicit. 

19 months down the line and I’m still learning how to deal with this new life I’ve been thrown into. Sometimes it’s just hard. It can seem unfair and be exhausting. But sometimes it feels like the most important life lesson I could ever have been given. As I sit on my sofa on a Sunday afternoon, in my PJs, fresh from the shower after a good morning’s sea slapping, with hubby beside me dozing, I couldn’t be more content. 

I remain the luckiest unlucky girl in the world. 

“Neuroscientists and psychologists add that the ocean and wild waterways are a wellspring of happiness and relaxation, sociality and romance, peace and freedom, play and creativity, learning and memory, innovation and insight, elation and nostalgia, confidence and solitude, wonder and awe, empathy and compassion, reverence and beauty — and help manage trauma, anxiety, sleep, autism, addiction, fitness, attention/focus, stress, grief, PTSD, build personal resilience, and much more.” 

From Blue Mind by Wallace J. Nichols