First of all note to self: Must blog more than once a month!
You know when you end up in a rut, caught up in your own worries and the general trials and trubulations of life? Well that was me yesterday.
I have been off ill from work since March with symptoms yet unexplained, despite 2 consultants and various test, which as I am NHS are taking ages! On top of all this I have a stomach bug which the only bonus of is that I have lost 6lbs since Monday! (I WILL get Slimmer of the week at Sliiming world on Monday!) I spent all day yesterday sipping water, sat in my jim jams with my poorly quilt and feeling mightly sorry for oneself.
At 7.35pm I got a call that shook me right out of it, an old friend of mines mum was on the phone, and after an initial confusion as to who was on the phone she went on the tell me that her daughter, Donna, the girl I spent 11 years going through school with, celebrated the births of our babies with in 1983, mourned with her the loss of hers to cot death only 6 months later and for one reason or another had lost touch with 15 years before had died. DIED ??? Age 42 FFS?!? That is not meant to happen. I was MEANT to get back in touch with her, We always MEANT to keep in touch!
As you can see this has shocked me to the core, but has put my own life in perspective. Ok, I'm ill. Ok, I can't work at the moment and we are poor. But HEY! I'm alive!! My kids and my grandson aren't having to go through what Donna's children are.
My phone was off the hook all night with calls to and from old friends as the news spread, mostly people just wanting to say hi and most conversations starting with "I'm sorry i haven't called in a while.."
One lesson to learn, don't "mean to" do anything, DO IT! I wish I had, but life has a habit of running away with itself and we waste so long on less important things instead of taking the time for ourselves and our friends.
So on Tuesday, we'll all go together and at 11.40am say goodbye to our friend Donna. I can still picture us now, at 23 years old, tottering out in a blizzard of snow in high heel sandals, mini skirts and vests. Freezing to death but refusing to wear a coat, because you didn't!
Goodbye Donna, reunited with David
RIP