It’s Been A While

Some people occasionally take a blogging break, to recharge their batteries and to enable them to come back with renewed vigour and interest. As this is my first post in nearly four weeks it may seem that I have done that too. But usually when people take that break they tell us in advance, so that we know what they are doing. I didn’t, for the obvious reason that I hadn’t planned to be away so long. Perhaps an explanation is due?

At the beginning of April, I went to spend a few days with my father and stepmother. I had intended to put together my next post while I was with them, so that I could publish it when I came home. But……I fell ill while I was with them, and all plans and good intentions went out of the window. That post – a companion piece to something I wrote last month – is still not complete, so it will have to wait for another day. It hasn’t been the greatest of months, to be honest! The doctors are a little mystified as to what has been wrong with me. I have an underlying condition, lymphoedema, which means I have to be a little careful what I get up to, but on top of this I have an infection, cellulitis. The difficult part for them to work out is whether it is that infection that is making me ill, or whether I have another infection that caused it. A kind of medical chicken and egg question, if you like. Tests have been done, many antibiotics have been consumed, but it is still there! The side effects for me have included extreme tiredness, which has meant that I have been falling asleep at unexpected times of day. Maybe I shouldn’t watch so much cricket! I have also been required to rest a lot, which has given me a lot of time for thinking. But for some reason I just haven’t felt like revisiting either my own blog or those I follow. So, if you’ve noticed my absence from your ‘likes’ and comments, I apologise!

Too much thinking can be bad for you, and a number of celebrity deaths in the past few weeks have started me down the road of considering our mortality. I’m not old – I’m 62 – but I’ve never been older than I am today, and oh boy have I been feeling that! Am I at an age when I should expect my body to start letting me down? I think not, but then again I don’t expect that either Victoria Wood or David Gest did, either, and they were both only 62 when they left us. And as for Prince, 57 is ridiculously young to die, whatever lifestyle you’ve enjoyed. Clearly, though, the fact that it is taking me so long to get over whatever is making me ill could well be related to the ageing process, and the natural truth that as we age our bodies can take longer to repair themselves. In my own case, there are longevity genes in my lineage: my mum lived to 87 and my dad is now 88 and still going very strong, so I’m not worried that anything serious is about to happen to me. But I am inconvenienced and frustrated by being ill for so long. Having said that, however, I was told yesterday by my doctor that cellulitis can take up to 3-6 months to get over, so this could be a long haul!

I’ve decided that I’m going to make more of an effort with blogs – yours and mine – from now on, as long as I can stay awake long enough! And I can see a theme of how we change through the stages of life as a possible strand for further development. It won’t be another 27 days till you see me again, I promise! I’d be interested in your thoughts on this issue, too, so do please leave a comment. Whatever age you are, are you noticing changes in how you think, what you can or want to do?

I’ll leave it at that for today. I have a bit of catch up blog reading to do! See you again soon.