Well there's my grown up daughter Natalie. On the day she was born her dad wrote on our calendar "A little ray of sunshine was born" and that's certainly been true throughout her 21 years to date. She's bright, intelligent and funny - all qualities which I hope she has inherited from me! She's also very beautiful. I consider that her greatest beauty comes from within but she shines on the outside too. Natalie has two children, both girls and I totally adore them. Lizzie-Anne and Faith. At the time of writing Lizzie-Anne is 3 and Faith 18 months. They are hard work but a delight to be around. Every day brings something new with them.
So that's Natalie. Then there's Sam. Not a "Samantha" but a "Samuel". He's very tall and ginger - something his sister never lets him forget! He's also highly intelligent and I have found I can no longer help him with his homework - it's way above my ability now! He has a very dry sense of humour and constantly keeps me in check on the small technicalities of things, starting his sentences with terms like "Well technically...." So that's Sam - very matter of fact.
Then there's Andy. Andy is my very long suffering and mostly patient "significant other" "partner" or "fiance" take your pick really. I prefer "best friend". He's a "grump" at the best of times but very tolerant of my various family members who try his patience at times to it's limit. Andy is uber-talented and creative. His photography is amazing but that's just the tip of the iceberg with his artistic talents.
That sums up my immediate family of the human kind, next we have the animals...
Patch is a "spanollie" according to Sam, that is to say he's a cross between a Spaniel and a Collie. To tell you the truth I'm not actually sure what he is except very hairy! Patch is a rescue dog. We didn't rescue him per se - he chose us. We actually went to the rescue centre to view another dog but Patch chose us. He had been promised to another family but then the rescue centre discovered they didn't have a garden for him and worked all day during which time he would be chained up outside so they called us and offered him to us. We were delighted. It's been a bit of a journey with Patch. When we got him the rescue centre said that we would never be able to let him off the lead because he wouldn't come back to us. He had been picked up by the dog warden as a stray living wild eating scraps from peoples dustbins. For the first two years we had him it was hard. We would take him for walks and keep trying to let him off the lead only to have to chase him! But after much love and understanding together with an extendable lead and treats when we called him and reeled him in again we finally got to the day we let him go and he actually came back to us. I think for Patch the day we adopted him all his Christmases came at once. He's an absolutely fab dog to have around apart from being so hairy! He looks after all our family.
At the centre of our family sits Abby. Abby is very big, gentle and another ginger, or to give it it's proper title "Chestnut". She's a 16.3hh Cleveland Bay Cross mare (horse to those of you reading this who are clueless about all things equine!). Abby is beautiful, stubborn, gentle, giving and obstinate all rolled into one. She's also been quick poorly with arthritis in her hock on one of her hind legs. So we've had and continue to have a bit of a journey with Abby. She's much loved by all the family and has brought the whole family together (extended family that is - my parents, sister and brother included)in an effort to ensure she is as comfortable and pain free as it's possible to be in the circumstances.
The final piece of this jigsaw is, of course, me. I often think that when I die, if I were to be buried my headstone would read: "Here lies a nice person." That's me - I'm "nice". But what is "nice"? It's the person who gets the most flack but still comes back for more, it's the person who sometimes (often) becomes a "doormat" for others, it's the person who always apologises first even though, often, they are not the one in the wrong. Sometimes being the "nice" one is not nice. I often wish I were more assertive. Back in "the day" (i.e. pre children/early 20's) when I was some high flying middle manager I used to take out from the work library of training videos titles like "When I say No I Feel Guilty" and in over 20 years nothing has changed. "Nice" is insipid. The person with the firery temper gets remembered, as does the grumpy person, the drop dead gorgeous person but the nice person - they become little more than a passing comment "Oh Sharon - she's nice". So nice is in many ways not good. I don't especially like being the nice one. It annoys me that I'm not stronger and more assertive, that I often let people walk all over me yet at the same time I am comfortable in my skin. I can live with myself because at the end of the day I am nice and really it's ok to be nice......isn't it?
I noticed that some of the attributes that you give to Abby are also inherent in you.
ReplyDeleteBeing assertive can affect change.....
It can also destroy; so be careful what you wish for.
I speak from experience as it can create the bully that I have become!