Behind the Mask of Life.

The month of November is often associated with remembering and the older you become, the more memories you store.


 I was particularly moved by a recent photo circulating on  facebook depicting an old man with his shadow demonstrating his youth.

Such a powerful and poignant photo as it allows us to see the person behind the age. The real person behind the mask of advancing years.


Too often we place people in categories such as 'the youth', 'the elderly', 'the middle aged' and we do not stop to think about the actual person.




In this month of remembering, I am reminded of my working years as a health visitor. As part of this role I occasionally visited  'the elderly' who had had full and rich lives but who were incapacitated by age. Behind the mask of age were untold stories of creativity, support and friendships and most had lived lives that were full of meaning and usefulness in society.

I worked with 'the youth' in schools and in the community who were being formed to take up their role in society. A role that sadly was distorted in some young persons by parents and carers at an age when their personality was developing.


I worked mainly with new parents and saw behind the mask they used to face the world. A mask that could hide the anxieties, problems and difficulties associated with the vastly important role of child rearing.


I was so privileged to share in the lives of many people of different ages but I was aware that we all share the same needs, wants and expectations in life.




We live for such a short time and each one of us is important to the growth and advancement of the world. Shakespeare wrote 'all the world is a stage and we are merely players', we only allow parts of our selves to be visible to others. So let us remember to look beyond the masks, to hear the stories of life and of the individual.

What shadow would I reflect? I hope it is one of help and support and of having made a difference in the lives of those I have met.

Take a Breath!

I thought retirement was meant to be full of rest and  relaxation.Well none of that for us, we haven't stopped still
since John retired and sometimes the days are blurred as we speed through like a whirlwind. But we are enjoying our new found life and there will be ample time for R and R  in the future.



We celebrated the wedding of our daughter in May. A truly wonderful day, marked with happiness, lots of love and good weather. As a small child I learnt, through the catholic catechism, that 'God is love'. I have come to understand, after a long journey, that God is in all love, whether they be heterosexual or homosexual relationships. I recognised this love that day and wish them a long and happy 'marriage'.

Continuing on the wedding theme, my youngest daughter is getting married next year to her childhood sweetheart. She met him at school 11 years ago and he proposed to her last year. She has already chosen the venue, photographers and most importantly - has chosen and ordered her wedding dress.

The caravan we bought is proving to be one of the best purchases we have made. We travel to Wales frequently now and have spent many happy days either on our own or with visiting family. I am sure I am energised and revitalised by the greenery and the mountains as soon as I cross the border. We walk for miles and try to swim daily, that should keep us fit in retirement.

The scenery never ceases to amaze me and I have painted my first oil painting which is of the Headland around the bay. I have plenty other scenes and sites that I would like to capture on canvas and hopefully sell to other owners on the site. With this in mind I have started to develop a web page where anyone may browse or buy - http://essellart.moonfruit.com/ 
I will upload more paintings here when they are completed.

Finally, we have put our house up for sale. Inevitably now there is only the two of us, we are looking to downsize and move areas as we are no longer tied to workplace nor schools. We don't mind if the new house is in need of a bit of renovation or 'ready to move in'. We will probably look to buy a bungalow so that we won't need to be moving again in the future.



What was I saying about R and R? We already have major stress factors in our lives - weddings and house moves. 
Bring it on!!
And breathe!

R and R?

Having considered numerous options, we have finally bought a caravan in West Wales. It has all the necessary mod cons and sleeps up to eight people so John and I will have more than enough space. It is sited on a family site and has a private fishing pond, is next to the sea and has a private gym. The surrounding area is beautiful with Cardigan Bay on one side and the Snowdon mountain range on the other. We intend to take our bikes and use the numerous coastal cycle paths. It is ideal now that John has retired and we no longer are tied to working days.

Minor problem at the moment though. To celebrate John's retirement, most of our family spent a weekend break at Centre Parcs which was really enjoyable, however when I was playing badminton, I jarred my knee and it is still sore. I have reached the stage where my mind is a lot younger than my body, but as the months go on I'm sure I will get back into all those activities on offer.


Last week we took the grandchildren to the caravan and is was wonderful to have an excuse to try the activities that we wouldn't normally try. We had a lovely, albeit it, tiring time with them. Next week we are in London for a couple of days as one of my daughters bought us a gift experience for Christmas. So we will be cruising the Thames and having dinner one evening. I thought retirement was to rest but we have not stopped and there is no sign of a rest anytime soon!!



The following week we will be in Birmingham as our daughter, Alex, is having a civil wedding ceremony with her partner Kate. We went with her when she had a fitting for her wedding dress and needless to say, she looked stunning.



In between all this activity, I am still sewing and painting. The links to some of these are via https://sites.google.com/site/essellartandcrafts/  John has started to make his fly fishing hooks and I have been painting fish in water colours to accompany them.

Okay so my knee hurts, my hips are sore and I'm not sure what day it is but I quite like life in  retirement. I haven't found the R and R yet though!!

Taking Stock

As I sit here typing, the early signs of spring are appearing and I cast my mind back and remember the wonderful cruise we took in December to celebrate my sixtieth birthday. It couldn't have been more perfect. On the day of my birthday we were in Tortola in the Caribbean, a beautiful and lush island. We toured the island then spent the day on the white sandy beach. A wonderful start to celebrate a new decade, a new chapter in life. I have this poster on the wall in my dining room that currently doubles as my sewing and art room, to remind me of this day. This was my view from the sunbed and every time I look at it now, it helps me to relax and in those dimmer periods, puts life back into perspective.

Life will change yet again and so, as I enter a new decade in life, it is time to take stock, to look at possibilities, to reappraise our circumstances and expectations.My husband John is also retiring in one week and he already has his hobbies and projects lined up to keep him occupied. He hopes to design and create fly fishing hooks and sell them alongside my crafts at summer fetes. He also aims to rediscover his woodwork skills to make bird boxes and garden ornaments. In the short term I continue to be busy with my sewing and painting, some of which you can view via the links on my web page at https://sites.google.com/site/essellartandcrafts/ 

I heard recently that the husband of my best friend in my teen years has sadly died at the young age of sixty one. Like us, they had been married for forty years, unlike us, they are unable to enter their new decade together. As John and I walk this new path, I thank God for our past life and entrust Him with our future life. Maybe we can only plan so much and do not know what is around the corner but in the meantime, we stride out together.


If being '60' is the new '40' then bring on middle age!!