Tuesday 31 January 2017

Contrary weather

The usual Tuesday morning here in the Yorkshire Dales - with friends C and W in our favourite cafe drinking coffee and hot chocolate and eating a scone, a toasted tea cake and a piece of ginger cake respectively.  And, of course, that all important hour of chat.   Outside the window it was pouring with rain, although the temperature was higher than it has been for a while.

After lunch it was driving the mile to sit and chat with friend M in her cosy lounge.   Our friendship goes back a long way and whenever we meet we always have lots of laughs - important today as the rain stopped and the fog came down.   Shortly after three o'clock I decided it was time to come home as the fog was really thick and I can't drive in the dark (it was certainly getting dark).   But by the time I arrived home it was raining again and miraculously the fog cleared as if by magic.

During our chats today I find the several things are changing - folk are moving house, a friend is ill in hospital and other friends are seriously ill too.   Of course I know that nothing ever stays the same but nevertheless I have always liked to see the status quo remain intact = any changes and I become  most unsettled.   And that is how I feel this evening - many things are 'on the move' and somehow I have to maintain my equilibrium.

In this I know that I take after my mother, who went into a decline at any changes.   We used to make fun of her, but now I know just how she felt.
I could make a list of things which are on my mind at the moment but of course I won't.   It won't make them go away and - hopefully - in a few month's time I will look back at this year's beginning and think 'thank goodness all that is behind me'.

 

20 comments:

Rosie said...

I agree with you about how unsettling change can be and wish I had the temperament to "embrace" change!

krishna said...

I can understand your feelings.. accepting those changes is hard..

Joanne Noragon said...

One foot after the other, to the end. Fortunately, most of us have fairly decent paths to tread.

Virginia said...

I do know how you feel - I want to make a cocoon and hide when the changes seem all too fast. I take to baking and making an extra effort to cook interesting meals of 'healthy foods' - I think it's a case of "well, I can't change the world, but I can make a good refuge here". Not thinking too far ahead is another strategy - I overthink and make myself even more agitated. Which doesn't help! As Joanne said, one foot after the other!

Gwil W said...

Pat, that's a lovely story about a robin that you left at Cro's blog. I could see the whole scene you presented so well in a few words.

Sue in Suffolk said...

Spring is on the way............I hope, that will perk us all up!

Anonymous said...

Maybe better weather will help x

justjill said...

Always look for that bright spark in the day. There is always one and a bonus if there are more. Just a conversation leading to a joint burst of laughter. Hanging on in there.

Rachel Phillips said...

When things change we invisibly change with them and a new equilibrium will arrive.

the veg artist said...

I find that I can cope with change once it has happened. There is no choice, is there? It's uncertainty that unsettles me.

donna baker said...

I used to love change, but now, not so much. Go with the flow. I try to tell myself those little idioms quite a lot.

John Going Gently said...

" drinking coffee and hot chocolate and eating a scone, a toasted tea cake and a piece of ginger cake respectively"
You greedy old trio
Xxx

jinxxxygirl said...

I'am the same way Pat... i like the 'status quo'... Just as you say.. changes unsettle me.. I just say ' i don't do change well'... and by now everyone knows that about me. i don't know i like everyone knowing that about me ... but at the same time its nice to not have to try to hide it.. which is what i did when i was younger... I'am what i'am and at almost 50 i don't think i'm changing.. But i get thru it.. maybe not as gracefully as someone who is better at accepting change but i do get thru it and life goes on and its not long before the sun comes out again.. Hugs! deb

Chris said...

That human contact is so important for anyone (like myself) who lives alone. Wednesday and Friday are my mornings for meeting up with my friends for coffee and a chat. We do this after our fitness class. On Mondays and Thursdays I have my bridge group to socialize with although that depends a lot on how our hands go! Weekends can be rather solitary but I do cherish that too.

Cro Magnon said...

I'm not keen on change either. In my mind, changes are rarely for the better!

Derek Faulkner said...

I hate change, I have my routines, it throws me out all day, probably an age thing. But at least your love of eating out hasn't changed.

Librarian said...

As long as I can keep my own happy little bubble intact with all its pleasant routine (and every now and then something exciting to break up the routine a bit), I am not averse to change. But I do know how it feels when it is all getting too much and happening too fast, out of my (presumed) control.
For instance, when I was separating from my first husband, I had been thinking about changing jobs for a while. But until my new life (with the man who was to become my second husband) had not settled into calmer waters, I was not ready to start looking for something else. I could not have handled big changes on the professional front as well as in my private life.

Glad you got home safely and the fog cleared!

Heather said...

I have never liked change but over the years my life has seen many changes. I know how you feel Pat and I have surprised myself by contemplating a huge change. I am thinking of selling the house and moving into a small apartment in our little town. I don't drive and would be able to walk to shops, public hall, market, chemist, etc. It would give me greater independence and free my children from a few responsibilities. Since I have become a widow I seem to look at life quite differently, but am not going to rush into anything.
I hope that any changes you are facing will not be too challenging, and that the next band of weather wont be too challenging either!

The Broad said...

The older I get the less I am comfortable with change, but I also still get bored when there is no change going on. My husband hates change and finds it difficult to explore new restaurants or turn down an unknown road to see where it goes. He wasn't always like that though -- and sometimes I think just maybe he gets a little bored with everything the same all the time.

The Weaver of Grass said...

Seems that in many ways we are all of one mind. I do agree that the older one gets the less change appeals. But it is often at this age that is necessary - as in so in your case Heather.

I also agree - as several of you say - that if some things remain constant (e.g. friendships, eating out etc.) then a thread of normality runs through, which does help considerably.

Thanks for your sympathetic comments.