In a bid to banish the January blues, I like to remind myself of all the good things that have happened in the year just passed, and the things I have to look forward to in the year just started.
2022 held plenty of joyous moments. There were gigs galore, sea dips, time with family and friends, laughter and dancing. Highlights for me included:
Top Gigs
So many fantastic gigs after the covid drought. It’s hard to pick my favourites, but here goes……..
- Hothouse Flowers. What a showman that Liam boy is!!
- Counting Crows. Bucket list gig for me, one of my favourite bands. They definitely didn’t disappoint.
- Crowded House. Another bucket list one and, even better, we got to enjoy it with my sister and brother in law. A rare occasion when our musical tastes merged lol
- Our annual charity gig of course. Another corker. We’re now up to a mighty £22,000 raised for Macmillan Cancer Support in NI!
Top trips
- Two trips to visit our son in The Hague. The first in the warmth of April, the second in cold but glittery December. To be fair we wouldn’t have cared about the location, it’s just always special to see the light of our lives! Having said that, The Hague is a fantastic city and a pleasure to visit which is just an added bonus.
- A weekend in Barcelona in the September heat. A beautiful city we’ve visited a few times before, somehow this trip was made all the more special by the relaxed approach……we’d seen everything before so we got to choose where we’d like to go back to and take our time exploring.
Top dips
- My birthday dip in March. It was a sunny Friday, I had taken the day off work only to find hubby couldn’t get the day off and my regular sea dipping team weren’t available. I got in touch with another friend who I’d met when I was in the same hospital ward as her mother. She was going in with a few friends and welcomed me along. When I got there they had a birthday banner and a birthday tea cake for me, and we had a wonderful dip in perfect conditions. On leaving the water I decided to have a cup of tea in the seaside cafe. I wasn’t bothered about being on my own but it turned out I wasn’t! I bumped into a lovely couple I know from work who were there with another couple. Again, I was welcomed into their company. We sat in the sun, chatting, and I had a wonderful time!
- Kinsale, County Cork. Hubby and I had planned a trip only to discover my best sea sista had planned to go around the same time. We were staying at opposite sides of the county, but met in between to dip in the very pretty Kinsale. Yet another beautiful serendipity.
Other top moments
- Finally getting to officially open our Riverbank Relatives Room in our local hospital. It was a long journey but the room is beautiful, provides an invaluable haven for patients and their families, and is a heartwarming reminder of the generosity of some of the wonderful people I have in my life.
- Dedicating a bench to my dad and a dear friend of his at their beloved Rugby club. Two aul boys holding whisky glasses, forever remembered sitting in pride of place in front of the clubhouse, watching the match. “When will we see yer likes again?”
- The addition of a baby grand to the household. Not only does it give me joy just to look at it…..it reminds me of my dad and of how far I’ve come with relearning how the play, and it’s just so pretty……. It’s also helping me improve my memory. It’s such a pleasure when the notes come out right (!) that it makes practicing fun and that has improved my focus, concentration and memory dramatically. Multiple wins!!
With so much crammed into 2022, how will 2023 ever compare?? Fear not, it has already started joyously with a cuppa with two school friends. It’s wonderful how 30 years later we can sit down together and share stories and laughs like we’re still teenagers! These are the friends that are always there…… we share memories, history, and life changing times both good and not so good. We will always have each other, no matter how many years pass, and that’s an incredibly special thing.
What else is to come? More of the same really….. gigs, trips, dips, good times. 2023 marks my 26 year wedding anniversary with my wonderful husband and best friend still firmly by my side, keeping me steady. We have plenty more adventures planned!
I’ll sign off with my most recent scan results..”….continues to remain stable….” More than happy with that! Research tells us that 80% of people with my diagnosis don’t survive to 5 years. At the risk of skudding myself, I’m dancing my way into year 6!
Take that January, your gloomy greyness ain’t getting me down!!
Living with xx
