Lifes Truest Happiness...
This morning I ran on the treadmill in a little room on the ground floor of the hotel… This was in the main due to the fact that (nearly) all our clothes are in the laundry!
I couldn’t work out how to tell how long I had been running because the 'quick start programme' was just a fuzzy screen; so I ran along in a timeless tunnel on the same spot. I loved the space of nothing but the step, at one point I noticed that I was just staring into the big ‘floor to ceiling’ mirror watching my legs running along… 'A meditation on the legs…'
Thirty nine years ago today, Februrary 6th, my Mother died... As I sat eating my delicious breakfast of fruits and yoghurt and pumkin seeds, my sister and I sent one another 'anniversary texts', mine to her said ‘Hello Sister 2 and Hello Mummy’ and hers to me said ‘Hello Sister 1 and Mummy’. We scatter our favorite icons representing each another ( a runner and a rower!), our mother and sister love throughout the texts… We do the same on our Dad’s death day, on both of their birthdays… and also the Labrador Candy's birthday who we grew up with!
It represents for us way of lighting a 21st century iphone candle…
Today is also my sister-in-laws birthday and the 21st wedding anniversary of her and my brother; so after sister 1 and 2 texting; I called Sue and my brother Stuart for birthday and ‘never been 21 before’ songs of celebration…
All the big events birth, marriage and death; the ones we have certificates for - being remembered and honoured in one day. The cycle of life, birth, death and rebirth all in a circle, all together; all part of the same stream; life, love and death…
And – today is the day that Jane and I met Simon, who is our great friend and who is editing ‘A girlfriend for a year’. We met Si Seven years ago today… I raced in late to ‘The Real Eating company’ where Jane, our friend Andrew and I met for our writing group called ‘Gold and Silver’… Si was managing the restaurant and served us our lunch… My decree nisi was being read out in a court in Swindon that day, 'In six weeks I’ll be free to marry again…' I announced... ‘All the men will be hiding’ Andrew laughed...‘On the contrary', Jane and I responded, laughing too… 'They will be queuing up'! At that moment Si came over to our table again to try and establish what we might like to eat…!
‘You’d marry me’ wouldn’t you? I said to him ‘yes’ he replied laughing as well… 'There, not a moment's hesitation' Jane gestured to Andrew, and we have been friends ever since; and betrothed!
And so the three of us, Jane, Si and me meet every year to celebrate ‘the betrothal’ and the friendship…
We have a plaque that one of us keeps for a whole year and then we hand it over. I have had it this year, so it is a very well travelled plaque now!
This is what it says…
‘Lifes truest happiness
Is found in the friendships
We make along the way
Si is always troubled by the bad grammar in the lack of the apostrophe on ‘Lifes’!
We had a wonderful evening in Si's wine bar celebrating... ‘Lifes truest happiness’
