The passing of time

I was at the funeral of an old school friend last week, I'd known her since I was 12 years old and we were very close at school. Even though we saw each other infrequently after leaving school I always considered her a good friend.

I never thought I would be attending her funeral at what I still consider to be a young age - her teenage daughters are the spitting image of her as a young girl and when I saw them I was transported back to the 1970's.

The church was full of her family, friends and colleagues - she was that sort of person - you couldn't not like her. Other old friends from school were there, we sat united in grief but still with an air of disbelief - how could she go, suddenly we were all being confronted by our own mortality and it was a little frightening.

I feel as though her departure has left a little gap in my life and now I have to cling to fond memories and old photos - R.I.P. Sue

I'm feeling old today - I was sitting on the bus on the way home from work when I realised most of the other passengers were younger than me - I know I'm (only) 48 but I felt more like 88 sitting listening to their conversations. Where did the time go - how did I suddenly get to be middle aged!!

Just a quick post today as things are hectic at the moment. Went to a Christmas dinner/disco last night - food was OK but there's never enough of it! Most popular thing seemed to be the plastic water pistols which came out of some of the Christmas Crackers - great way to use the awful wine they served!!
Been food shopping this morning as there will be little time as Christmas approaches. My partner's father has been taken ill so we may be really busy for the rest of the week

It's my birthday today so I treated myself by getting my hair coloured - might as well brighten things up for Christmas.
As I'm another year older I thought I would highlight the 'Help the Aged' site - http://www.helptheaged.org.uk/en-gb/ - I think the elderly get a raw deal when it comes to health and life in general - according to the site half a million older people will eat Christmas dinner alone - something for us all to think about.

I'm hoping to relax tonight with my family, eat my birthday chocolates and watch the X Factor finals.

Today is the second anniversary of my mother's death. She had a hard life and never had things easy - she never seemed to find the happiness she was searching for and I wish things could have been better for her. I do miss her - as you get older yourself you come to realise how short life really is - don't forget to phone or send cards to all your family and friends - even a little gesture can mean a lot.

I am officially old! I got on the crowded Metro the other day on my way to work and a young man in his early 20’s offered me his seat. It was very polite of him and I’m glad to see that good manners still exist, but I was always taught to give up my seat to the elderly or infirm so where does that leave me!