Today’s video poem is about music; how it can transform your mood and transport you to another place and time.
If you enjoyed those poems, and have time for a cuppa then you might like to check out my book Rhymes of the Times. It has many more poems like this and is perfect for dipping in and out of when you fancy a little pick-me-up.
Click here to be taken to my author page where you can purchase the book.
I have been pretty negative about the process of aging recently, as you can see here and how I am starting to feel (not to mention look) old. I have decided that there must be some positives to being older, and here are a few things that I have noticed….
You can say what you ‘bloody well like’, in the words of my 85-year-old mother! Yes, once you reach a ripe old age you have earned the right to say what you like about anything; regardless of whether or not it causes offence or hurts anyone’s feelings. I have been in the supermarket with Mum when she has told the assistant on the deli counter that she ‘doesn’t want that plastic ham’ or she’s ‘not paying that much for a bit of cheese’ etc. They can’t decide whether or not she is joking but soon get the message when she turns on her heel and just stomps (well hobbles nowadays unfortunately) off! I. or my sisters (whoever has the pleasure of being with her) are left cringing in her wake, rolling our eyes at the bewildered assistant.
She likes to say what she thinks about members of the family too. Either directly, once she told me that a trouser suit I had bought would look better on my sister as ‘she has got the figure for it’. Very true, but I was gutted, and never wore it again! Or indirectly, as in when someone has left the room and before they are even out of earshot she will remark about how much weight they have ‘piled on’ or how awful their outfit is!
Another advantage is selective hearing. This can come in very handy when you don’t want to do something. For example, my Mum hates putting her heating on, and would rather sit there shivering under a blanket than be nice and cosy in a warm room. So when any of us walk in to her little icebox, the conversation goes something like this.
“Why haven’t you got your heating on?”
“What?”
” I SAID, WHY HAVEN’T YOU GOT YOUR HEATING ON?”
“I cant’ hear a bloody word you are saying!”
Leaning over and bellowing in her ear,
“WHY IS THE HEATING NOT ON?!”
” Can you put my hearing aid in, it’s over there?”
By now, I have lost the will to go on, but will dutifully get the hearing aid which is whistling and shrieking, and put it in for her, and then just go and turn the heating on myself. It’s easier.
However, if I had whispered to my sister a bit of gossip about someone, she would have heard that and put her two penn’orth in!
When you are older, and supposedly wiser, you are an asset to any quiz team! There are always questions about the old days. Games like Trivial Pursuit and other question based games normally require a good range of general knowledge, and of historical events.It stands to reason that n older person on the team is a bonus (providing they have their hearing aids in, of course)!
You can dress with abandon, wearing whatever you like in whatever colour combinations you choose when you are older. Who cares about being colour co-ordinated any more. Many elderly people I have encountered (which amounts to quite a few), are very uninhibited in their dress sense. Why shouldn’t you wear reds, green and blues ALL at the same time! Who gives a toss about what others think?!!
You can nod off at the drop of a hat. Think Grandpa Simpson here, and his amazing ability to fall asleep, even mid-sentence! Yes, when you are older,nobody thinks it odd if you fall asleep at inappropriate times. How great is that? If you have a social function that you are obligated to go to but are not keen, it doesn’t matter! You can just have a snooze whenever you want and no-one will think you are rude. Far from it, they will probably think you are very sweet and endearing!
Those are just a few of the benefits I have come up with to being older…. are there any I have missed?
The party has started!!!
Welcome to my blog party!
I haven’t hosted a blog party in a very long time, and there are a few things that I would like to take the opportunity to celebrate:
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I received a very special package today from an equally special person! This is what I found inside.
Can you guess what is in that precious little bundle? Well, here is a clue. can you see the little shell legs poking out at the bottom there?
As some of you may know, I have teamed up again with the talented Sandra (or Daffy as I like to call her), from Wild Daffodil and we are collaborating on some on some fabulous art that Sandra created. She is incredibly artistic and creative, and I just love the images she has created out of shells, stones and flowers. So much so that I thought that they deserved little stories attached to them. I express myself better in verse so I wrote some little rhymes which Sandra kindly agreed to put with her characters.
We have created a few together now, and I can tell you, it is such fun working with Sandra. I love seeing what she is going to make her characters do next, we have had a pole dancer and aliens doing yoga so far!
The exciting thing was that Sandra got some of these made up into greetings cards, some with and some without the poem, plus she has also made some beautiful mandalas made with flowers, one of which is on the cards. I was extremely excited to get some in my package today!
The quality of these cards is lovely and they really are unique! If you would like to get your hands on some then please visit Sandra’s Contact me page here.
You won’t be disappointed!
Linda’s prompt word for this week’s Stream of Consciousness post is season. We can use it however we wish (even adding a suffix to it) and get bonus points for starting and ending with a season or seasoning. Oh, and a picture gets even more bonus points!
Autumn is well and truly settling in we have had all kinds of weather, ranging from unseasonably warm days and days like today which are cold and blustery. (I think storm Brian is popping in and out just to keep us on our toes)!
I feel that every season has something to offer. Autumn with its beautiful reds and golds, crisp mornings and chilly evenings. Of course, there is also Halloween with the kids dressing up and houses decorated in all sorts of spooky ways. Then it is Guy Fawkes night and the sky will be lit up in all kinds of colours as fireworks whizz and pop into life. Hopefully, the skies will be clear so that people can enjoy them.
Winter is burrowing in time! Wrapped in a blanket on the settee with fleecy pyjamas and thick socks, then getting then having a hot flush! Dark nights and mornings mean wanting to stay in bed where it is warm and cosy. Hearty, filling meals like stews, and casseroles, stodgy puddings, crumbles and custard, and large mugs of hot chocolate or milky coffee. Ahhhhh, I can dream of all those delicious calories waiting to be consumed! If we are lucky (or unlucky if you have to drive in it), we might even get a bit of snow. Such fun for the kids as inevitably, the schools will shut down, there will be chaos on the roads and the trains will not be able to cope with ‘the wrong kind of snow.’
Spring is always so welcome to me, the lighter evenings, warmer weather that is not sweltering, just pleasant. The flowers poking their heads up above ground to see what is going on, bluebells in the woods, blossom on the trees, birds singing, digging out the shorts and t-shirts only for it to suddenly turn arctic!
Lastly, the beautiful summer, blue skies, hot sunshine, beaches, barbecues and loads of daylight. Of course, it also means, suntan lotion, insect bites, dragging the fan out of the loft, chucking the duvet off the bed, and moaning about the heat!
Yes, each one has something to offer, but being British, I also love to moan about the seasons!
I have teamed up again with the talented Sandra (or Daffy as I like to call her), from Wild Daffodil to bring you another bit of silliness this Saturday. Sandra is incredibly artistic and creative, and I just love the images she has created out of shells, stones and flowers.
One of the nicest things about Sandra’s blog is that you never know what she is going to get up to next, from beach art, to knitted wigs, and mandalas to making spirals in her garden.
Here is our little story for this week. Meet Grandpa and Granny out for a walk, when they bump into some rather scary characters! Check out last week’s story here.
Walking to the seaside one day
Grandpa and Granny met friends on the way
They had quite a fright
Realising something wasn’t right
At a loss to know what to say.
There was an Ugly Shell Show
And the friends had decided to go
They transformed their features
Into hideous creatures
That, Grandpa and Granny didn’t know.
Granny had got such a scare
What had happened to poor Wilbur’s hair?
And Micky’s disguise
With massive bug eyes
And those lips…Wow, what a huge pair!
Even their little Sonny joined in
With the sockets of his eyes coloured in
Jill’s face was so flat
Like she’d been hit by a bat
Now who you YOU think will win?
I have a message from Sandra again this week
I expect you know by now how much I love to join forces with other creative minds. If any of the characters that appear on our Silly Saturdays spark an idea for a story or a poem, please get in touch. Judy and I are tentatively thinking of putting a little book together and we would both love it if it could be a group effort from our wonderful blogging community. All very much in the early stages and we welcome thoughts and ideas. I’m wondering about an ebook with sales going to charity … but all those details are up for discussion. Here’s a reminder of the characters so far.
Come and join in, I am sure it will be fun! 🙂
I haven’t hosted a blog party in a very long time, and there are a few things that I would like to take the opportunity to celebrate:
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Those of you that suffer from anxiety and depression know how difficult it can be to come through the other side. I know that when I went through a particularly bad phase, it was as much as I could do to get out of bed, let alone function. This poem will give you an idea of what I felt like.
You wake up but still feel so tired as if you’ve had no sleep at all.
Your thoughts all muddled and fuzzy you want to curl up in a ball.
Your head feels so constricted like someone is squashing your brain
Your body has lost all momentum and your soul is crying in pain
Yet, there’s no logical reason why you want to just be on your own
To lock yourself up with your sorrow and be in that zombie like zone
You are unable to communicate though God knows, you have tried
Your inner most thoughts want to break free but your mind keeps them locked up inside.
It can be debilitating to yourself and affects all aspects of your life. Your family, friends and work colleagues try to be understanding and patient, but it ‘s hard for them, especially if you don’t want to communicate with anyone and shut them out.
The most important thing is to recognise when things are starting to become challenging and tell someone about it. I know when everything is starting to get on top of me, and I am struggling to cope, so it is at that point I make an appointment to see my doctor to try to get some help as soon as possible.
Be open and honest. I know it can be difficult for some people, as mental health issues are often brushed aside or stigmatised. It is that feeling that you won’t be believed because there are no visible signs, or worse, be told to ‘pull yourself together and snap out of it!’ If only we could.
Don’t beat yourself up about it. Another tricky one, because when I am feeling depressed, I go back over everything; conversations I have had, situations I have been in and berate myself for something that I have said or done which has made me look/feel stupid or might have offended someone. It is very often not the case at all, but when you feel useless or helpless in yourself, you feel that everyone else thinks that you are too.
Try and get out into the fresh air. When I am feeling particularly bad, I just want to shut myself indoors and hide away in my little cocoon of security. The problem with this is, it is tough to get out of this rut, and in a way, it makes you feel worse. You become wrapped up in yourself, sometimes not bothering to get dressed, or having a wash. It just adds to the general feeling of worthlessness and self-disgust.
Write or start a blog. Now I know this might seem ridiculous if you don’t feel like doing much, especially if you have cut yourself off socially from everyone, but I found that this was the best way to help me get through. In fact, it was the very reason I started my blog. I found that by trying to see the funny side of things and making others laugh kind of made me feel valued in some way. Also, I made friends but did not have to physically meet up with them and therefore wasn’t shy or embarrassed. There were no awkward silences, and I could reply to messages or comments when I felt ready to do so.
Of course, it took some time to build up my blog, but I never thought anyone would read it in the first place, it was just for me to express myself in the best way I could. In the end, I met some of these wonderful bloggers sometime later at the Bloggers Bash in 2016. By then, I was much better and ready to socialize in person!
Take any help that you are offered. In the past, I have been to counselling and also have had some Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) Sessions which I have found helped me enormously. Yes, it was sometimes hard to physically get myself out of the house to attend these appointments, but occasionally I asked my husband to take me. I was always glad that I went as it helped me understand why I felt the way that I did, plus I was given tips to try to help myself.
Aim to achieve a little more each day. It may sound obvious, but doing things in bite-sized easy to manage chunks is so much better than hurtling headlong into forcing yourself to complete tasks then feeling resentful and burned out when you are unable to cope with the self-enforced pressure. For example one day I would get up, have a bath and hair wash, the next I might do some washing up or walk to the shop as well,
Don’t Rush it. As I mentioned above, it is much better to make sure you are feeling well before you try jumping back into everything in full-on mode. I once made the mistake of returning to work too early as I was worried about taking time off, but I was not quite ready, and it didn’t do me any favours. It was extra stressful as I was trying to appear my ‘usual’ self when apparently, it was obvious to others that I wasn’t myself at all.
There are no hard and fast rules of course, as we all cope with things in different ways. I have found that these strategies were crucial in helping me cope with anxiety and depression.
Let me know in the comments if you have any other ways of coping .
I have found this useful website (Mental Health. Org. UK) that offers a booklet that can be downloaded with tips to help overcome anxiety and depression. Please click the link here if you would like more information.
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