Jack's House

Best wishes to David.

I had a very secure childhood and knew beyond any doubt how deeply I was loved.  My parents were by no means wealthy but they encouraged me and supported me (probably making unknown sacrifices themselves) in whatever I wanted to do. 

With this background I always wanted them to be proud of me.  Sadly from the point of view of my bottom they were also strongly principled and set high standards of behaviour both for themselves and for me and they were pretty strict about enforcing them.

Consequently whenever I fell sufficiently short of their standards for my pants to start heading south my overwhelming feeling (apart from the inevitable sting) was not of resentment but of guilt and anger with myself for being such a disappointment to them

I believe that the (not very many) hidings Dad gave me were delivered as much from a sense of duty as from anger but they were salutary in that they certainly hurt. 

Perhaps I may even even have come to believe the trite phrase "doing this for your own good?"

Best Wishes from one Creaky to another.  Get back up soon

Best wishes David.  Get well soon.

Thank you Padraig & Adric.

As you will see from today's BOTD I had no intention of dumping Bransom; I have just downgraded it to "spare moments."

My main problem was that, when we had no other plans, I got into the habit of logging in each morning after breakfast.  Then with reading, responding, doing a bit of writing and perhaps dipping into MMSA a good part of the morning disappeared down the spout. 

That is the habit I have broken. 

Hi

I am back online again mainly to say that I won't be around so much in future.

We had a stressful time after starting Christmas preparations at the start of the month and finally had to confront the truth that old age has taken its toll and made us slower whilst the days stubbornly refuse to stretch out to allow us to complete our objectives.  We are not ill but our joints are wearing out and our muscles are degenerating, but thankfully we still have each other, decent general health and our sense of humour.

We have always been outdoor people who love to walk and explore wild places and when I retired over 25 years ago we resolved that during the times we were settled at home we would, on the basis of use it or lose it, walk out for at least an hour or so every day. Sometimes shopping took care of the requirement, other times we wandered round the neighbourhood and, since we live on the edge of a National Park, we would have some enjoyable days out.

That this resolve has endured probably accounts for us being fitter than many of our peers and some acquaintances much younger.  Lately our walks have become more urbanised and since I find now that about five miles over undulating terrain without a good rest is my limit a cable car or funicular has become a prerequisite for ascending mountains; Switzerland here we come. 

(Last Christmas we abandoned most of our family for the first time ever to spend an unforgettable fortnight in the Bernese Oberland.  On Boxing Day we were wandering around on the saddle of the Jungfrau in sunshine and crisp snow at -14ºC)

Today we are remodelling our lives to preserve our mobility for as long as possible, getting out more for day trips into the National Park (a pub lunch seems to fit the definition of a good rest).  We are also fitting in a few exercises to maintain muscle tone.  Something has to give and that something is sedentary pastimes, including writing stories.  Recently I made a push to achieve a century of MMSA stories and the 100th could well be my swan song; it is some time since I logged on there.  I will be continuing to log on to Bransom, but on a less regular basis and my contributions may well be minimal, but we'll see how that develops.

All is not downbeat though.  Next summer we will, God Willing, celebrate our diamond anniversary and in anticipation have already booked a luxury river cruise along mainland Europe waterways.

I'll be back on line again in the New Year (perhaps even sooner?) but in the meantime.

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Best wishes for a speedy rcovery