Flying solo

Sun_Addict

Great to see you back Robin. I rarely watch films or indeed anything more than an hour long as I always fall asleep, very annoying. Big boo to the gardener

missrlr

Oh Robin this is shocking behaviour by Gardener! It's just not cricket. Well, effectively it closes the relationship and you can find another more reasonable sensible soul to hope you.
Glad CD is enjoying life and you have a friendly rather lovely sounding stallion there.
Sorry Black Dog is visiting but well done on the drainage resolution
Stay strong lots of love and wishes

Brightspark87

Sorry to hear about Black Dog visits and the negatives but lovely CD is happy again and you have water!

xx

missrlr

Hey thinking of you, loads of love and best wishes

Xx

*Robin*

Season's Greetings to all MSEers, :santa2:

Good morning, and Merry Christmas to those who celebrate it.. :xmastree:
Many thanks to everyone for posting..

Sorry for yet another long absence; yours truly has been in a bad, sad place. Deep in the pit.
Divos and Xmas visitors threw down a metaphorical rope, bless 'em all. :xmassmile

I have not wrapped a single present; as a family we have stepped aside from the fever of commercialism which grips the rich nations of our World ever more tightly with each passing year.

DGS set the tone: His teacher had given him a 'letter to Santa' to fill out for English homework. Divo One told me that after squirming on his chair and fiddling with his pen for a while, DGS took the decorated sheet of paper over to his Dad.
"I can't do this," DGS said to DS. "There's really nothing I want or need, so there's no point in hassling Father Christmas when he's so busy - anyway that's you."**
**Again this year, Divo One was persuaded to don the red pillowed suit and hand out a small gift to every child at DGS' school on the last day of term, so perhaps the lad is a little confused..?
DGD made it known that she prefers a contribution towards her university savings - hoping to graduate without debt. An impressive thought from a pre-teen girl! :T

..Think all of us adults are happy to follow the kids' lead. Apart from anything else the poor little lost baby should have been due to arrive today, so nobody felt comfortable with the idea of wild celebrations.
We will have a decent meal together, although DIL may prefer a day of peaceful contemplation to joining in. I've prepared our traditional vegetarian main dish hoping she'll feel up to it, but if she doesn't it's understandable.

A motley crew of mostly single friends have been invited to swell the family; enough that Divo Three will even now be firing up his pizza oven, because the house cooker is far too small to roast all the dishes on his chosen menu. No turkey for us: Lamb, chicken, a whole salmon.. Goodness knows what else. Divo Four is in charge of pudding.
Doubtless it will be a feast. :xmassmile

Oh dear. Still having trouble stringing words together; better leave it at that or yet another update will remain un-posted.

Spends:
Groceries - £80
Grandchildrens' savings - £300
'White envelopes' - £300

When_the_going_gets_tough

Robin wishing you and yours a peaceful Christmas period and hope for 2016

missrlr

Seasons Greetings to you and yours!
We have a similar sentiment here regarding Christmas although small niece did get some bits she needed for a hobby wrapped up. Once again we are worried about Doglet's health he is deteriorating. So unreasonable that dogs have shorter lifespans than humans
Anyway pleased you are on the way up out of Pit of Doom.

Sun_Addict

Happy Christmas to you Robin. Sorry to hear you been down. Enjoy your day.

please-let-me-be-lucky

Merry Christmas Robin! I hope you had a wonderful family day - who needs presents when you have good company?!

Hope DIL managed the day ok Xx

*Robin*

Happy New Year to everyone! :hello:

After several false starts, I must tell you all that this will be my last post in Flying Solo. It is time to let go - with many grateful thanks to all of you who have supported my emotional struggles with such great kindness. It's been more than I expected at the beginning of this journey, and probably more than I deserved.

There is a lesson in the disappointments which have dogged my steps this past year; the whole palava of Little Pirate and his owner's dangerous car, my dear old friend who I've had to distance m'self from, the relative who threw out the box containing the WW1 soldiers' medals and paperwork which I was hoping to turn into a permanent, public memorial to DH, and Gardener's incompetence that destroyed so much of what DH and I achieved together..

Of them all, it's the latter which has rammed home the lesson. Am too old and not fit enough now to restore the garden to where it was before CD and I went away last summer, let alone continue planting new trees - I'll not live to see the fruit.
Perhaps it was always a futile dream, to continue the project that DH and I had planned to enjoy together during our retirement?

Let it all go..

Guess I've known for a while that I need a new direction, and that is the basic reason why Black Dog has erm, dogged me so hard recently.
I'll be at the Nest a while longer - until CD's days are done because she would rather be here - and that gives me time to transfer the houses into the hands of my Divos. It is something of a family tradition; why wait until the reading of my Will?
Then, I think, I will take to the road in camper-van and see where chance leads me.

There is one other reason for my decision to end this diary; I have been outed. Suppose it was bound to happen one day given the amount of personal information I have shared with the World..
All I can say to "A" who knows us in RL, is that I'm glad it was you. I've always had the greatest of respect for you - in fact your example has often come to mind during my darkest moments. You rebuilt your life when disaster struck at a time when your family was far more vulnerable than mine. You've risen above heart-break more than once; I salute you, and hope I can do half as well in the time I have left. Also hope I can rely on your discretion, which seems possible given the subtle clue you left for me.
Our paths do not often cross in RL but I think of you as a friend - hope the feeling is mutual!

So there we are - begin a new year with hope.

I'll still be around on MSE; all of you Friends-in-the-Box have become far too important to my sanity for me to abandon this life-line, but now perhaps I'll be able to share your journeys rather than concentrating on my own.

In no particular order:
Missrlr - I was sorry to read Doglet's health is deteriorating, but hope he still has some good days you can enjoy together, and that when the time comes for him to cross rainbow bridge it is peaceful.. Nothing can take your memories, or the knowledge that you gave him a life filled with love - what dog could ask for more?
I think it's likely that 2016 will see us both having to bid farewell to our beloved companions; such is the lesson of Dog. Many virtual hugs, dear friend, and cuddles for Doglet..

Lucky - you're an inspiration to so many MSEers, and one day I hope we get the chance to meet in RL. I am very grateful that despite the difficulties in your own life you have taken the time to support me through my wobbles; many virtual hugs for you too, dear friend.

Knitwitch - we almost did meet up; maybe it will happen next summer? The timing was wrong for us both last year, we'd have made a sad party in your local as both of us were struggling with bad news. Cuddles for your Cairn boys, and I do hope Doctor Warlock finds another position worthy of him.

Sun.A - you too are an inspiration. Sometimes I wonder whether I would have coped as well as you, had DH survived but been so terribly changed by his illness. I wish you the very best of luck, and many more visits to the sunshine lands..

Dansmam - what to say? Thank you for all your encouragement, and sharing news of DD on her travels which has helped me more than you'll ever know.

Sparky - I foresee a great future for you; best of luck achieving all your ambitions, you're already on a good steady path.

To Bubbles, Linden, Tuna, Patanne and everyone else who has been kind enough to pop up out of lurkdom to commiserate when things have gone wrong and encourage my progress, I apologise for not mentioning all by name who deserve my thanks - please know you have it..

But right now, Clever Dog says I've been writing long enough; it's time to take her for a walk in the warm sunshine we are blessed with today.

Happy 2016, everyone; namaste.