Norq From Ork

I don’t want to be THAT girl, but someone has to.  There’s a definite touch of Autumn in the air.  My friend Hayley Green, known on here as (Mouse Magnet)  takes a photo every day at the same time (7.00am) and has done for about 18 months.  It shows the changes of light and I really enjoy seeing how the (usually) same view can be so different from day to day and season to season. She took this one on 1st September 2018

I Iove this time of year as you often get some beautiful misty mornings.  This has to be one of my favourite photos ever, taken from my bedroom window round about this time of year.  I absolutely love it. If only we could bottle that peace and tranquility….

I still associate early September with back to school despite being in Orkney 10 years when they go back to school earlier in August. Times and seasons ingrains memories in our minds I guess.  It’s been many years since I was in education, but this week I was enrolled on a college course in Health and Social Care for my job.  I was quite nervous, I thought I didn’t have a clue what I was doing. It turns out I was right, I don’t have a clue what I’m doing. The good news is several other people on my course also didn’t have a clue what THEY are doing and we were all reassured it will all become crystal clear in the fullness of time.  Meanwhile, I spent my time wondering if I was a little too old for Fresher’s Week.  I’m still waiting for my invite to a foam party…..

Orkney Beef and I will celebrate our 7th wedding anniversary tomorrow.  A lot has happened in 7 years and anyone who knows us knows that we’ve had more than our average share of stresses and strains in that time due to serious ill health on Orkney Beef’s part as well as many other struggles in life, but we’ve made it through by being side by side not head to head.

A ‘little’ ahead of us in the anniversary steaks are my parents who will be celebrating 54 years together this month.  They too have had an enormous amount of difficulties to overcome including two cancers in The Mothership and a quadruple bypass in Father Bear as well as the loss of a dear son when he was 40.  As a family, we are now facing fresh challenges as my lovely mum is currently struggling with some memory problems and we are yet to discover the cause but are hoping a diagnosis comes soon.  No one wants to see their parent like this and I continue to be inspired as I watch my mum and dad face this change and challenge in their life with total courage and dignity but most of all with absolute love for each other.  (I’m crying, again, as I type this)

I want to do as much as I can to support and help them and this may well impact on my writing.  I just don’t know if I’m going to have the emotional energy to do it, and as someone else said we are told to apply our own oxygen mask before attempting to assist anyone else with theirs for good reason.

‘Don’t upset yourself darling’ she told me yesterday ‘I’m still the same person, I’ve just worn my brain out’ Bless her heart.

The beautiful Mothership with my dog Hope, who always sticks close to mum.  She knows she’s the most likely one to feed her biscuits.

So I may or may not reduce my writing for a time depending on how I feel, how the good days and bad days go, and how I think I can manage.  I’m pulling back from a lot of commitments to focus on my parents because I love them and I want to be available for them as I always I promised myself I would should the situation arise.  So as all things in life, it’s going to be a wait and see.  I may continue to post regular updates or I may go quiet for a while.  But judging by the number of rainbows I’ve seen this week, I’m sure it’s God’s way of telling me that the sun will return again after the rain.  As my mum has always said. ‘God has never made a mistake yet, and He’s not about to start with you’