Have you ever had that feeling that something has changed and we are now in a new era? Maybe there has been a ’sign’ – something you were not expecting – or possibly even something you were expecting, but you feel differently about it than you were expecting? Don’t worry, I’m not going to get mystical about it (though that has it’s place sometimes). Perhaps I aught to just come out with it and tell you what’s been going on . . . . ?
At the end of 2011 and the beginning of 2012 we suspected that there would be changes for us in 2012. Actually, that’s not as mysterious as it probably sounds, ‘cos we had something in mind that would definitely happen eventually, and it might possibly happen this year, but the first strange thing was something entirely unexpected.
During the night of the 5th / 6th February, Stella died. (She usually called herself ‘Stells’). For people like me that knew of her, but didn’t know her well, that was a huge shock. I had been in touch with her in 2009 when I was setting up my Sensual Steve website and she had been very helpful. Later on, in October 2011, we got back in touch and were arranging to meet, but our available dates didn’t line up. I didn’t know she had been unwell in the early part of this year, so her death at the age of 37 was totally unexpected. My experience of her is that she was a kind, vibrant, and a fun-loving person. I know she will be greatly missed.
The second ‘turning point’ event was the death of my mother-in-law on 21st of February. She had Alzheimer’s disease, and had been going steadily downhill for several years. Then, when a sudden change in her demeanour was reported to us, we had time to fit in another visit to say our good-byes. Even so, the phone-call a few days later saying she had gone, still came like a bombshell. We had been increasingly proud and impressed by her valiant efforts to make sense of an environment that became ever more confusing to her. One of the main bedrocks in her life had been the loving care she received from the care workers at the home – they didn’t just meet her needs, when she became bed-bound, some of them even sat with her in her room as they had their their coffee or their lunch in order to keep her company. Even when she obviously didn’t understand, she trusted the care workers. She passed peacefully.
The next unexpected event was that a lump that had appeared on my wife’s forehead was diagnosed to be a lymphoma, but it was not a type that the consultant recognised . . and neither did the specialist. Could it be stress related? Well, maybe. The consultant is fairly sure that the lump is a secondary, so there is talk of doing a full-body MRI scan to see if they can find the source . . possibly the lymph nodes. This is not the sort of change we had in mind. Watch this space.
So why a photo of a chair this time?, you might ask. There is a pre-refurbishment sale in a large local shop which we had thought to be a department store (turns out they call themselves a Superstore!) We needed a couple of items of furniture, so we went for a look. Our first visit to the shop was a bit of a shock . . . and a history lesson! They sell furniture and furnishings only. I think they must have dragged out all their unsold stock from the last 137 years of business in an attempt to get some extra revenue to pay for the refurbishment. Anyway, we found a likely candidate for one of the items we were looking for, made an offer below the ticket price and bought it for a compromise price between the two. Then came another surprise – the sales assistant fetched an A4 sized triplicate pad and started filling in the form . . . by hand . . . with a pen . . . slowly! Time was galloping past and I knew our time in the car-park had nearly expired, so I went to fetch our car to the door of the shop. On our way back, with our prize safely in the back of the car, I heard the rest of the story. The completed form (in triplicate) was taken to the cashier (at the other end of the floor). Only after the cashier had copied the information onto another triplicate pad was some means of payment asked for! Let’s hope that the update is not not just confined to the building!
