Andi Mack Finale and what a mother learnt from the show !

One could say that Andi Mack was different in many ways than any other kids' series. Indeed, as a mother, I viewed that what Andi Mack did was show that no matter what the situation is in life you could be true to yourself. "Was Andi Mack aimed at young people?" one could ask. Yes, it was, but as a mother in her fifties, I found myself seeing I had a lot to learn from this season and the previous ones. We all are unique and have something to give: Andi with her art, Buffy with playing sports... the list could go on: they all were special. I think as we grew old we all forget that we can still dream dreams and still accomplish amazing things. As a child, I so wanted to be a fashion designer but never did. So what stops me now? Maybe it is in seeing that as we face challenges of life and value each other, anything is possible. The show focused on so many different issues from panic attacks, parents, school to issues around us. It should empower people when they watch this show that the world around us allows us many opportunities to be unique, different and that we can overcome so many hurdles if we allow others to help. Even the gran was amazing: she was truly fun and inspiring, and I hope I am like her when I am one. It is sad though that Andi Mack was canceled. I think it gave kids a voice. I think it allowed issues to be shared and heard in a very unique way. How can we take what one series tried to teach us and make a difference? One can only say that we each have a voice, and this TV show should inspire us all to have a voice, be heard and be proud of who we are and who we can become-- no matter what our age. So on behalf of the mothers out there, Thank you, Andi Mack, for being an amazing show of sheer inspiration and allowing me to see the world of not just my children in a new way but also my own.

One single Poppy.

I have lived in the United States of America for many years and every time around this year it never ceases to amaze me that not a single poppy is warn not a single poppy is sold. In England poppy's are sold a simple respect for the men who died in conflict. Every year I wore a poppy as a child not thinking twice about it. When I worked in a store here I asked if I could wear my poppy with pride but was denied that right. In recent months I have been reading up about WWI which my Grandfather served in and was gassed in. Why is there so little respect for those who have fought for us. One simple act of respect. In WWI and WWII America and England both lost many people. Young men in a battle field often surrounded by blood and dying friends. Yet we in 2018 we cannot wear or display a single poppy. The displays are amazing in England the time that has taken to show in same small way that we have not forgotten the fallen ones, those lost often at a young age. Has the world become so self obsorbed that it has forgotten who has fought for their freedom. Young men thinking that they were coming home at Christmas served years to keep us safe and no one single poppy does not pay anything for the price they paid, however it does say I will not forgot, it does say Granddad thank you, it says to all those lost that I will wear my poppy remembering you. To those who never returned from those blooded fields, to those who fought to the end I will not forget. My single poppy has a voice and yours can too. Please remember to show respect for all those who have paid the price for your freedom.

The Tree of Life

The Tree of Life

I was planted just a seed and through time I grew With each gentle breeze I pushed out my branches, green leaves appearing My branches ever reaching the sun Through time they have broken, and my direction has changed But still I reach up for the sky and the sun that calls my name Autumns have come and gone, my leaves change colors my aching limbs wanting a time to rest Cold snow captures my body and my limbs I catch the snowflakes and press them close to my chest Others see them on my bark, but they dress me in white in the cold winter nights The dews of morning awaken my very soul, The tingling feeling of the frost at my toes, the earth around me guiding my growth Seasons have come and gone, I have seen sunsets like no other, watched bombs fall from the skies Captured shooting stars and rainbows Lightning bolts across the skies I have seen eclipses and watched the rays of light captured in a moment as it brushes the skies and shades it’s morning light. I have seen children laugh and adults cry, I have seen death and smelt it knock at my door. I am a tree, I am a life As days grow shorter and my days are not so long, I still remember every shade of autumn, every ray of summer, every dress of winter, every delight of spring. I remember the days of plenty and the days of sorrow I am life and life like no other, I am a mother to many a place for a song to be written A heart to be penned and story to be hidden I am where memories have been made and heartaches are shed I am ……. Yes I am the passing of time….I am indeed a mother.

Immortalizing a WWII into something that it was not.

As I looked at pictures of the fun in some of the small towns in North Norfolk celebrating 1940s and listened to a ladies group who sings songs from WWII who was on Britain's Got Talent, I had to reflect on what my mum had said about the war. As we look back at history and see the clothes and family unit of war time Britain, have we forgotten those children who were sent to far off countries and places to get away from the war, many treated badly many although leaving war time England in fact ventured into a new war for their lives miles from home: those evacuees truly missed out on their childhood. Many children like my mum still to this day remember the images of the planes and bombs being dropped, never to be erased from their minds. Yet we dress up and celebrate this time period. Are we as human beings making light of how many families suffered, or are we commemorating the bravery of many? I think it is a hard one to say. Before talking with my mum these passed few days, I used to think it would be fun to dress up and go to one of those events but as I listened last night to a song sung by "The D-Day Darlings" a song sung by Vera Lynn "There'll Be Blue Birds Over," I took to heart each of the words being sung. It is so easy to not listen to the elderly to forget how much they have gone through and easily forget and often make light of many time periods in our history, I think it is good to reflect to and remember that what we make light of today was really very serious. My mum survived but, like many, the scars did too, if anything I think of when I see people celebrating the 1940s I think of all those who served, all those who did not come home, all those who did so much to keep this world safe and in that I am so thankful. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_vDFKba_WDE

Hurricane and WWII

As I sat waiting for Hurricane Florence to come near to where I lived I called my mum in England. All my life I have heard stories about WWII my mum grew up in WWII she is now 88 years old. She compared the hurricane to her time in the war and how the uncertainty must have been horrid but as I listened I quickly realized other than the uncertainty there was nothing similar. The people who grew up in that time or any time of war did not know for one minute what the next second would hold. No cell phones, television nothing just waiting to hear news on a radio. The innocence of childhood gone and taken. My mum recalled going to a field to collect walnuts from a tree and looking up at the sky in all innocence thinking that they were planes that were safe, but machine guns fired on that field. These people firing at an innocent child and her mum, my mum and my Nan laid in the field until they had gone. She talked how her mum, dad and herself knitted socks, gloves and scarfs and gave books to the gunnery people that she passed on her walk to the train station on the way to school. How they had no inside toilets, how windows were blacked out. She said " I don't want to remember but the memories just keep flooding back". This innocent person, her life changed forever not just in a hurricane but because of a war that she knew not when the end would be. My mum has fought many wars in her life and is indeed the bravest person I have ever known. I wished to God I could hug her. We all live our battles it maybe in our minds, maybe scared of a hurricane, but we often forget those who have gone through so much and are often forgotten. As a child I did not want to hear more about the war but as an adult all I wished I could do was to take all those fears away that she had and give her back a childhood I am sure she wished she had. You know as I listen to her she talks with love for all those people some never came home. I can thank Hurricane Florence for showing me to love more, listen more and just to be so thankful that my mum got to live through it all. I often forget to listen, to truly be attentive to someone talking to me. I think we all can learn from what my Mum said. She added "Laugh at life and life will laugh at you, go be happy always"

Caring for each others.

We live in a world where computers rule and people asking if you are alright matter little. I use to work in customer service, indeed I have since I was fifteen I loved working in my mum's tea rooms, the smell of bread that was sold in the front end of the tea rooms was bliss to me. My brother had a shop which sold mugs and all sorts of things I loved Christmas and he won the Christmas display in our small sea side town of Cromer in North Norfolk. When I was a child most people knew your name. We walked every where up and down the hills of West Runton, God we must have been fit and to this day I love the memories. This lady owned a small store in West Runton it sold meat and groceries I called her "The Thank you, thank you, Very Much Lady" as after each item was placed on the counter that is what she said. Stanton is a small village in England I love it there, people talk to you like you have never left. So where has that all gone? When I worked in customer service I took the time to hold people's hands when they cried, to listened to their stories and was present in the little time I had with them. From placing groceries a certain way to asking about their children or how they were feeling, to me it was away of serving, away of making sure for that one moment that person felt loved. I would often say " You look beautiful or hello handsome" if my words brought joy just for a moment then indeed I was blessed. To me many of us are seeking to belong to have people care about us no matter what the age. Have we all moved so far away from caring that we are just robots in a materialistic world. To be blunt I think often companies just care about how much money they make, but in reality consumers often come back if they know that they are cared for.It is really the same with employees if you sit and listen to an employee and help them to do well really the reward is more then just a pat on the back it is seeing someone do well and wishing them the best. I think we almost have to untrain our minds and go back to what was told to us when we were young. "Treat others how you would want to be treated yourself" Now that is a thought to end with.

Good night Dad

It's been an interesting year so far. As I sit here I am reminded that today is Fathers Day many of us have had a hard time with their dad's what can I say.A few years ago I felt blessed to reconnect with my Dad then life changed this past Christmas and all of sudden what I thought was a blessing became a very empty hole in my heart. Perhaps when all is said and done God will have saved my heart from being hurt any more but say you wonder what it would be like to have someone really care. I think of a Dad protecting wanting the very best for his children and even in my fifties I see how much I have wanted that. Perhaps years do not make our hearts heal, in truth I think it makes our hearts more aware that if you dare to risk and care you may indeed get hurt. Instead of joy I have ended up with tears and that is not how the story was suppose to end up. I sat in my closet today in tears. Perhaps being a dad that cares is to much to ask, perhaps to many of us it is just a dream. In truth I have had the hardest time thinking that God cares for me because of my Dad. Perhaps it is time for me and maybe many to say Good night Dad and start on another chapter a new book so speak. I wish you all the best on your new book and I hope for us that our book has a happy ending.