Friendship

I was having a pretty miserable morning today. 

Insomnia mixed with medical mishaps.

I felt really stressed out and wanted to just cry.

I posted this on Facebook yesterday...

 

And this morning I received a text from a great friend asking to meet up. She has been a very good friend to me, even at times I haven't deserved it. I am rubbish at keeping in touch with people. It's not that I don't want to, it is just that I forget to contact them!

I know that sounds weak, but in this last couple of weeks alone, I have promised to:

• call my brother back (still not done); 
• add a note to my To Do list to call a friend last Monday (saw her by chance at the weekend)
• missed a call from my step-father, who I have seen since but didn't think to ask why he called...

So I meet up with my friend, feeling pretty crappy, and she ends up making me smile and laugh so easily. And she bought me a really fab gift set from Lush, all wrapped up in a beautiful head scarf.

She added one of these as it was Halloween, but I love skulls anyway

 The parcel was wrapped up in a head scarf, (not this one) which was shaped into a shoulder bag.

In the package of goodies was a card that showed the various ways of re-tying the scarf.

Phone, text or email a friend now, just to say 'Hi, I am thinking of you'. 

You will both be better for it.

'Scuse me but did you just say...?

Have you ever wanted to join in a conversation, to but in to someone else's conversation? I mean a strangers, not a friends. Just walk up and say something?

I am asking because there was a girl / young lady (late teens) on the bus behind me today, talking loudly in to her mobile. I am generally nosey, I admit, but she was talking loud enough for everyone to hear. Ironically asking her friend / sister not to talk too loudly about some secret mission or other.

Anyhows, she is talking away and suddenly squeals.

The next part of her conversation, the one side I heard, had my mind ticking over.

'Really you're getting one? (add excitable noise) I really wanted one blah blah blah'

But then, 'Are you getting a large one or a small one, 'cos small ones are easier to manipulate. If you get a big one, it won't be able to get upstairs; if you get a small one it will be able to get upstairs but won't be able to get back down again.'

I swear, I had to physically restrain myself from turning round and just looking at her, one eyebrow raised, 'Daleks?'

Beyond my Control: One Man's Struggle with Epilepsy, Seizure Surgery & Beyond

Beyond my Control is one the most powerful heart wrenching stories I have been fortunate enough to read. Stuart shares his inner most thoughts with his readers. I truly felt honoured to be on his journey with him. 

He writes about childhood briefly, his struggle with anorexia nervosa, and starting and maintaining his stained glass business whilst experiencing 'peculiar sensations'.

My heart ached for him to find a diagnosis, for him to find peace, and a sign he was not losing his sanity.

McCallum's easy-going nature and humour are self-evident in the book, even through his frustration and depression, he writes with warmth and the ability to laugh at himself.

McCallum documents his journey into depression, although expected, clearly and emotionally with a candid honesty that is refreshing.

Stuart freely allows his feelings to show from his impatience and frustration at being unable to find a true diagnosis, through his scared and shameful reaction to his own behaviour, to his love for his beautiful wife and children.

McCallum writes in an almost apologetic tone for the majority of the book. He is ashamed and remorseful of his behaviour, although it was beyond his control.

My overwhelming reaction to the book is one of admiration for McCallum and his family, for being able to live this life and still be strong and loving. Stuart and Lisa, his wife, are both people with incredible strength and dignity.

I would definitely recommended this book to anyone who enjoys true life stories, memoirs, or who wants to learn more about what it is like to live with this disease.

It is a truly remarkable book, written by a remarkable gentleman, whom I wish good health and success.