Journeying

My life has been one of journeys.

Throughout my childhood, due to my father’s job, it felt like we were constantly on the move. Moving from one area to another, finding roots, settling down and growing. Then, it seemed that an invisible gardener would appear who would remove me from our established soil and replant me, in some far-off place and the process would restart again. Don’t get me wrong, this isn’t something I feel bitter or regretful about. I enjoyed these journeys and experiences, and whilst I think they did have some impact on my education and long-term friendships, they also enabled me to experience new places and meet many new people. Overall, for me, it was a good experience.

As I started work, this journeying slowed down but still continued. I worked in numerous places before retirement and took up what will be our final permanent residence.

As someone with a Christian faith, life has also been a journey for me spiritually, as I have tried to follow the example and teachings of Jesus. This is an important part of my life and the ‘Christian journey’ is central to all that I strive to do.

You may also have noticed from previous blogs that journeying has also featured highly in my retirement. You will have seen how regularly, we have travelled to many places in Sheldon our motorhome. I enjoy the process of journeying and am reminded of the saying:

"Life is a journey, not a destination."

Of course, not all journeys are enjoyable. Sometimes, things become difficult and you encounter that rough, pot-holed road where you find obstacles, difficulties and diversions. Life's road is rarely flat and straightforward. Over the past few weeks, this journey has brought me down that less than straightforward, bumpy road.

Firstly, my mum had a fall in her flat and broke a bone very near her left hip joint. The family spent a full day trying to make her comfortable and reassure her whilst, waiting for the emergency services. This was very a difficult situation, made worse by being initially told that the ambulance wouldn’t be with her for 15 hours. (I’m happy to say, she received assistance in 8 hours rather than what was initially promised). She was assessed by several professionals and admitted to hospital where she was operated on 48 hours later. Her treatment following the initial assessment has been good. She has now started the process and what I fear will be a long road of recovery.

On the day of Mum’s operation, I had a pre-arranged telephone call from my Doctor. This brought news that I didn’t welcome, but wasn’t unexpected as I’d seen some comments on my medical notes before I received his call.

His call confirmed that I had been diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes.

Whilst not wishing to ‘dramatise’ this - it's a condition which is growing in the world and many have this same diagnosis. But, I did realise that for a bloke with a sweet tooth, this wasn’t good news. My health overall has thankfully been good throughout my life. I consider myself to be fit and active, but this was a wake-up call. I'm getting older and need to take these things more seriously.

It necessitated lifestyle changes,  some of which I’d already started to make. I needed to lose weight and get fitter to reverse the process and maintain my health. But, more about that and how my diagnosis came about in the next blog.