It seems to happen every year, normally around May, which is my favourite time of the year. Events conspire to make life seem such a rush, life dashes by so quickly and yet again I am longing for a slower pace.
No sooner had I returned from New York, I was visiting my mother who was so anxious without me around. I stayed with her for three nights while Rachel stayed with Hannah and Becky. Happily we all met up, twice. I think it must have been Sunday or Monday when I drove home.
Before I had mentally settled back into life at home, off we dashed again. This time it was to visit my cousin in Bournemouth, together with James her partner. We had a great time, laughed a lot and it was perhaps the tonic we needed. As we were driving home on the M3, heading for the M25, Rachel looked at her phone.
“At this rate we might spot Hannah on the M25”
Sure enough we did, it was hilarious as Hannah was driving home for a weekend with us. We drove home in tandem, with Hannah’s little Honda Jazz, complete with bumble bees and flower stickers, nimbly nipping in an out of the traffic far quicker than I could in the lumbering Toyota.
You can see from the above photo that I have been out on the Halfbike. This was my first outing on the Halfbike this year and I’d completely forgotten how hard going it is. Perhaps a more positive description maybe about getting a whole body workout. Anyway, it was again a bit of a head-turner with people stopping to stare and generally looking rather bemused. The upshot of all this is to remind me how out of shape I am. It is ten years since I ran my first marathon; I have run a few since but not for the last few years. Will I ever run one again? I do need to spend more time on my fitness but often feel pulled in different directions.
When I was warming up to go off to New York, I was looking forward to lots of things but especially the journey. Now I know that might sound a little odd but please allow me to say a little more.
There is something so hypnotic in travelling. I love pressing my nose against the windows and going into a bit of a daydream, to think things through. You could say that could happen on any journey and, to a point, I would agree. I was so much looking forward to each flight, each one in daylight so there would be something to see.
On a good flight, when I completely lose myself in thought, I often resolve to do something. To land with some extra determination, to have thought of a way through something. This time I didn’t get any inspired flashes of inspired new ideas. What I did get was to remind myself to be determined. To be determined to try different approaches and that the rewards, the satisfaction, is often proportionate to the effort I put into something. Good things are rarely handed to me on a plate; I/we have to work for them.
I need to apply this to all kinds of things in life right now. To my Toddington People project, to our house refurbishment, to my fitness, to almost everything.
Time is ticking by. Already it is June. May flashed by. April is something I can hardly remember and turning 60 at the start of the year is a distant memory. I need to be careful here. It’s not just the months of 2022 that are rushing by, it is life itself. Take note, Doug.