… No, I am not going to complain about the weather or even grizzle about how cold it is (actually, we’ve been having some rather nice sunny days). But it’s the  winter mornings that seem to have a soporific effect on me; those grey beginnings often mean I start slowly!

Perhaps you can identify with that state of mind? Especially in those first waking moments as I lie there, recalling which day it is and what’s on today’s agenda. Just sleepily sifting through the mental list. Simple, everyday memories and problems swim and spiral in my head. And sometimes I just want to curl up and doze back to oblivion.

But yet, my conscience niggles until I finally break out of my trance. I throw back the doona and jump out of bed! Well, not literally. I crawl out, reluctantly don my old dressing gown and slippers, slosh some half-frozen water on my half-open eyes, and head off for some brekky. Now, I wonder if you have mornings like mine, like yesterday….

…Got to the ‘frig to find just barely enough milk for cereal and a cuppa. Oh, Hosai, you’ve done it again, Bill. Stop. Write down ‘Milk’ on the shopping-list pad by the phone – and while I’m there… wasn’t there something else I wanted yesterday and now I can’t remember what it was – not the first time I’ve done that, either. Oh, yes, it was bread! Not even a slice left. Luckily there’s some frozen, sliced, bread in the freezer. So, using a knife – very carefully, I separate a slice and pop it in the toaster.

Clever you, you also remember there’s an unopened litre of long-life milk in the pantry. Saved again! And there is still almost a scoop of yoghurt in the fridge to add to my cereal. Suddenly the toaster pops up a thawed bread slice. So, while tucking in to the cereal, I push that slice down again, and resume my waking-up process.

Just as I’m are finishing my cereal, I smell something… burning…Oh, no, you’ve done it again. The toaster ejects (explodes!) the burnt offering up into the air and it falls to the floor just as the smoke alarm above my head starts its incessant wailing. As I instinctively jump up from the table my arm knocks the spoon which flips the cereal bowl and its contents to the floor!

My brain is spinning with the noise and the mess, and I need to decide what to do first. Before I can think about that, the phone rings….

…. “Office here, is everything OK there?”. Somewhat incoherently you explain to the management of the village where you live, that “All is well, no problems, just burnt the toast”. The voice at the end of the line betrays, I suspect, an overtone of “not again”, but thanks me for letting them know.

The alarm mercifully shuts down as I begin the cleanup process and decide I didn’t need the toast, anyway, and now there’s no cereal left in my plate either. I’ll just make a cuppa tea and clean up afterwards. Oh, no! it was teabags that had to go on that shopping list. Now, where did I put the instant coffee?

I manage to not boil the jug dry and almost enjoy that cup of coffee. So, I sit safely and watch the rain through the window – before I do any more damage! Then, as I go to shower, dress, and make the bed, I’ll think about lunch – and remember to finish that shopping list.

But right now, I’ll just sit. Enjoy that cup of coffee and ponder how lucky I am to be safe and sound and not outside in the cold and wet. But that burnt-bread smell lasts all morning….and a new day has begun!

And grey can be good, too. Even when it’s cold and grey, even old and grey! We do tend to associate greyness with oldness and coldness but, hey, that’s not fair, grey days help us to see and feel the differences in life’s climate. Although we can be ‘blue’ on some grey days that’s alright too, because it helps us anticipate and appreciate the sunny, bright, days, doesn’t it?

When you are feeing sad and not coping very well it’s so easy to slide into depression and a self-defining prophesy, especially when it’s a cloudy day. It’s even worse when you feel cold yourself too, and you just can’t seem to get warm. And more intense, too, if you are also coping with the shifting behaviour of a partner with the dementia we call Alzheimer’s. It’s then that you really might feel in need of a personal climate change!

But coping with change is ‘easier said than done’, isn’t it? Especially when you are both down, the greyness can become darkness and affect others in a family, and beyond. It may be easier to cope with this kind of personal climate distress if we recognise and react just as we would to the weather; perhaps by acknowledging the seasonality of our greyness, simply another period of transition. As we travel through these ups and downs during the seasons of life, there will always be moments of joy as well as sadness. So, we mostly learn to cope. We find ways to face the changes and deal with them and, in that process, discover how to embrace them.

Moving along that pathway takes time, patience, ingenuity, and a prayerful effort but, faced with the confronting reality of a partner’s cognitive disability, acceptance doesn’t have to mean it’s winter forever. In that sort of cold, wet, miserable, wintertime of life, one of the coping strategies is to consider and accept this idea of seasonality – and to look for the Spring and learn the lifestyle and activities that suit the season.

When we can’t go outside for a walk alone or together (the best antidote I know for the blues!) we become ‘adaptable’ and find other activities to share. With some partners there will be ongoing and varied challenges, and I’ve previously written about a variety of appropriate physical activities that might also help with the emotional aspects. Being resourceful will certainly require carers to be mentally nimble and often use some ingenuity; finding a comfortable place to apply both will often actually not be as difficult or as good as a walk in the park!

It’s hard to beat that walk to gently stretch our muscles, cerebral and physical. Personally, even in the winter of our discontent, I still like to walk outside, appropriately rugged up and waterproofed! Although I must admit that sometimes I simply just look out through the window and rejoice at being home, safe and dry!

Life’s like that, eh? Grey day, grey hair, doesn’t matter, we can learn to cope with whatever mother nature throws at us. Might as well make the most of what we have and enjoy the company of others while we can, where we can and while we can.

There could be a bigger storm tomorrow or maybe the sun will shine again! It seems most of us have learnt to live each moment and we don’t waste time still worried about yesterday’s weather. Let’s look around and forward and discover which shade of grey suits you and yours, but remember it doesn’t always stay that colour, so get ready for the sunshine….

Yesterday mattered too, of course, and tomorrow will no doubt be important. But today is probably the day that matters most of all – until tomorrow! Today is the result of all the ‘yesterdays’ that prepared us for the rest of our life.

We meet today’s challenges by using past life experiences and our built-up reserves of mental, physical, and financial resources, discovered and developed as we coped along the way. Confronted with a new problem, those past responses and resources rise to the top of our minds, and we find the best way forward. Maybe it’s not that easy for your partner, though?

Alzheimer’s can cause lots of tricky and sometimes unexpected responses, even to everyday happenings, as you may well have discovered! For example: there’s a coffee spill on the carpet and your partner starts rubbing it in with a tissue; probably not the best response!   So, you get my drift – no doubt you have faced that sort of thing? It’s those unplanned reactions from a partner that can test our resourcefulness…. and patience.

They are the small daily ‘happenings’ that stretch our minds as a Carer. And even minor ones can affect our attitude, our behaviour, and perhaps our temper. Just a simple event can easily develop into a major problem when your partner immediately tackles an activity in an unexpected, maybe even a dangerous, way.

Situations that need an instant solution can easily and quickly become a challenge. Most of the time you will have anticipated and learned the best practical ways to contend with most of those happenings. You will develop strategies, you will learn patience, you will try to keep a clear mind, and you will cope. If things are becoming difficult, tiring, frought, you simply must recognise that you need help. Talk to family, your doctor; check the resources listed on this site. Don’t wait. You are no help if you are stressed and tired.

Being a Carer is a commitment that requires an almost constant focus on the moment. That can mean a high level of alertness and a mindset known by the experts as a ‘coping mechanism’, but everyone knows that it’s otherwise known as ‘love’.

Love is the mighty power that provides, maybe not all the answers, but a goodly portion of the solutions – it’s the ultimate resource, the coping trick that will get you through today. And today, and each new day, may well turn out to be the most important day of your life.

Warm and sunny, cold, and wet, everything shipshape, everything wrong; life is like that. And we just get on with it; usually, or sometimes, finding happiness in just quietly mopping up the spillage with patience and love and a dry cloth.

So, yes, today does matter! Enjoy every moment you can….

Written by Bill, without AI interference – just a spelling check!

I simply typed those three words into ChatGPT and, without any further input from me, the following text appeared on my screen – within only seconds! It provided just a tiny sample of the power of AI and made me aware of the awesome creativity of this modern phenomenon and a glimpse of the potential effects it will have on us. Suddenly, I am now both overawed and scared when I consider some of the power and influences of AI as it rapidly begins to intrude in our lives, hopefully to the benefit of us all.

For my older readers, I repeat, I simply typed those three words to get the response shown below. (It is not edited; it made its own categories and even marked some words in bold typeface!):-

“The caring years” is a phrase many people use to describe the period of life spent looking after someone with a long-term illness, disability, or age-related condition—often a partner, parent, or close family member. In the context of something like Alzheimer’s disease, the caring years can stretch over a long time and tend to evolve in stages:

Early phase:
You may find yourself offering light support—helping with reminders, appointments, or managing finances—while your partner is still largely independent.

Middle phase:
Care becomes more hands-on. You might assist with daily routines, ensure safety, manage medications, and cope with changes in behaviour or memory loss.

Later phase:
Care often becomes intensive, sometimes involving full-time supervision, physical care, and coordination with healthcare providers or residential care services.

What makes the caring years significant

They’re not just about tasks—they’re deeply emotional and can reshape your life:

• A shift from partner to caregiver role
• Feelings of grief, even while the person is still alive
• Fatigue, stress, and sometimes isolation
• But also moments of closeness, meaning, and commitment

A realistic perspective

It’s important to be honest about this period:

• It can be deeply meaningful, but also exhausting and demanding
• Trying to do everything alone usually leads to burnout
• Accepting help early tends to make a big difference

What helps during the caring years

• Building a support network (family, friends, services)
• Learning about the condition so changes are less shocking
• Taking regular breaks (respite care is not a luxury—it’s essential)
• Looking after your own health and identity, not just the caregiving role.

That was the end of the AI response. I am still gobsmacked and just wanted to share it. Of course it lacks the personal touch of my laboured writing, but I’m feeling just a little redundant……What do you think?

How easy it is to sit around and mope (now there’s a word not often heard). When the weather permits, I like to go outside, to walk, to explore, to shop, or just sit in the sun and look, or sit and read! When you are a carer for a partner with Alzheimer’s, the outdoors can be an absolute tonic.

I remember, so well, all the walks I had with my late wife, Dorothy, many on our travels in earlier times, but also the rambles we had in her last years. At first, we were able to talk about what we were seeing – the plants, the birds, the people, the buildings, the traffic, how we felt, and what our friends and families were doing.

Later, the walks were shorter, then wheelchair, then less verbose, more contemplative, but almost as companiable and always so much better than sitting in a Care home, no matter how good. At that time, especially on cold wet, windy days and when ‘outside’ was no longer as permissible because of health concerns, our shared physical activity became even more restricted.

But now, I’m thinking about how we managed when Dorothy was still at home with me, all those years ago. Remembering the outdoor activities that occupied our times together and of the great caravan journeys we enjoyed around this huge continent, and of the walks we did then.

Today I went walking alone and, although rugged-up against the cold south wind, it was invigorating and I came home refreshed and less lonesome. Most activities are always better shared, of course, but walking solo can also be enjoyable and beneficial.

Push your partner’s wheelchair if you have to! In earlier times, I would put the ‘wheely-walker’ in the car boot and set off with Dorothy to one of the nearby parks. Walking hand-to-hand, or with a mobility aid, it doesn’t matter, just being out there is what matters.

The sights of trees and the smells of the bushland or in our marvellous suburban parks: sighting a little bird or a tiny native flower, even negotiating a narrow path, simply adds to the enjoyment, which reminds me about footwear and clothing….

Years ago, I threw out all our laced-shoes and bought well-fitted slip-ons for us both. Bending down is bad enough, but negotiating pesky shoelaces (which can be tripping hazards) is really difficult for one of us, worse when there’s four potential knotty problems!

And as for outdoor clothing, keep it simple: to easily add or remove if the weather changes. I used a tiny foldable backpack when we went on many of our walks, handy for the jackets and the folding umbrella!

Going out to concerts and movies did become problematic and lost its charm. But going ‘out’ also included drives to nearby hills and beaches for coffee and walks on the sand. Even where walking was not possible, watching the seaside frivolity of others was always fun.

When planning outings a crucial factor is to know where there are accessible toilets – and there’s an “App” for that: National Public Toilet Map app | Australian Government Department of Health, Disability and Ageing

Also very helpful: WheelMelb – Accessible Map for Melbourne

Sharing activities together outdoors is always special – and those times remain memorable. Maybe that’s why I am keen to keep travelling but, whilst it’s not always much fun being alone, there’s no doubt we all love being out in the fresh air, in our great Aussie outdoors!

How do you manage now that your partner has Alzheimer’s? Most days pass sweetly and happily but on others it will be a struggle to find a shared activity. Those may be challenging days but they are, nevertheless, precious times when we need to find different ways to share, to enjoy, and love, together.

Alzheimer’s manifests itself in different and often progressive ways in different people, so it’s difficult for me to generalise when I’m sometimes asked: “How do I stay ‘connected’, what can we do together when my partner often seems remote and aimless?”.

You would think that after living together for many years, we’d all know the answer. But Alzheimer’s changes the way we share our lives together, and we need to be resourceful and innovative as we face that unexpected, ongoing challenge.

So, we look for new ways to stimulate this happy partnership, to continue living happily together with less stress; to enjoy our time together while we can. At the request of one of my readers, I will list some ideas I used to pursue that bliss when Dorothy was still at home with me.

Depending upon the nature and severity of your partner’s condition, some of the following activities may not be appropriate, but I hope some may stimulate your creative mind….

1. Crossword puzzles. There are also large-print books with various levels of complexity (answers at the back!). From Newsagents/Post Offices.
2. Word/Picture puzzle books, large A4 size. From Newsagents, etc.
3. Jigsaw puzzles. Available with large pieces & can be borrowed from Libraries.
4. Draughts or other board games, or lots of Playing Card games.
5. Available with large Tile size. Scrabble can also be played, simply, without a board on a tabletop, making words in any direction. (Dorothy and used this method for years!)
6. Picture colouring books, A4 size or larger format, using a ‘colour pencil set’ not paints (both from ‘Dollar’ shops).
7. Drawing & colouring freehand on larger paper (from ‘Dollar’ shops).
8. Puzzle books, some in large format, just need a pencil (from ‘Dollar’ shops).
9. Some house cleaning, safely, with a cordless lightweight sweeper. Some dusting, cleaning mirrors. Plumping/refilling/changing cushions, pillows.
10. Knitting, simple, hand-sized squares, progressively – to later sew together as a throw-rug. Scrounge oddment wools from friends or unravel old jumpers.
11. Simple embroidery or other needle or craft work, with care, until dexterity, eyesight, concentration, and perseverance changed and needlework became too difficult.
12. Paper folding/cutting with round-nosed scissors, was popular. Making a scrap book was more problematic, but worth a try for a while. Consider using old photos or books/magazines as a source of pictures.
13. Some laundry jobs. Washing clothing by hand worked well for a while, but inattention caused some inefficiencies! Hanging out the washing on a line was a happy joint effort. Definitely don’t use a tumble-drier for safety/burn reasons.
14. Folding clothes after laundry, e.g. small items, underwear, handkerchiefs, pillow slips, socks. But never ironing!
15. Floral work (care with knives and shears). Arranging posies/choosing vases. Caring for them during the week, e.g. deadheading, trimming, checking water.
16. Using an iPad. Fantastic for simple games. Other uses if appropriate, such as colouring using a stylus; also reading (ability to change font size), watching, movies, listening to music. A very versatile device.
17. Reading books (also me reading aloud) and/or using a Book Reader (e.g. Kindle) and using large print books or ‘talking books’ as appropriate. Speak with your local Librarian, visit the library to discover activities there, too.
18. Read a daily or local newspaper or magazine, together. Pick it up and read a different part later in the day (sadly no funnies or cartoon comics for a laugh these days!)
19. Simply listening to music. Radio ABC has various options. I used a little Bluetooth speaker for portability, e.g. any room, or out on the patio in the sun (We were known to dance a little when some tunes were playing!).
20. I suggest NO cooking. After our experience of boiling a pot dry and nearly causing a fire on an electric hotplate. Sharp knives and pointy scissors are a no-no. and maybe store them specially. Maybe icing a bought sponge cake might be possible. Help with washing dishes and drying-up was always welcomed. Otherwise, the kitchen was a ‘no-go’ area after a flood from a tap left running! BTW, If your hot water heater allows it (mine did), lower the temperature setting to avoid scalds.
21. Make use of a Podiatrist and a Manicurist. Inept nail cutting can cause infections that neither of you need.
22. TV. Find a channel that plays your partner’s favourite old series, even if it’s a ‘pay’ channel. Familiarity with characters from earlier days helps and, I can tell you, the absence of ‘extremism’ of current shows is more calming!
23. Sorting through old possessions, knickknacks, souvenirs, photos.

Readers might like to write to me with suggestions for other indoor activities?

I’ll list some Outdoor activities in a later chapter, as I’ve ‘overrun’ here!

I know, that seems like a strange topic so soon after Christmas, but I was feeling a bit ‘down’ today (know the feeling?) and seasonality just came to mind. I was actually thinking more about our ‘Life’ seasons and their unpredictability, just like the weather.

Living in Melbourne, we’ve all become accustomed to experiencing four seasons in a day: not unusual to have heavy rain in Summer and warm sunny days in winter! If it’s just an ordinary terrestrial weather event, we simply adjust – we use a brolly, we put on warm clothes, or we strip off and have a swim. Yet some of us often grizzle about the unseasonable weather. It’s sometimes just as difficult to predict when our own ‘personal-world climate’ will change.

Those of us who’ve experienced a partner with Alzheimer’s may well have learned about what I’ll call ‘personal winter days’ when our partner sometimes behaves strangely out of the blue – our own real ‘personal climate change’  that results in an unexpected and maybe prolonged change to your lifestyle; perhaps a change or an event that may have been brewing for a while or, sadly, brought on quickly by an unforeseen illness or accident.

Such an ongoing personality change that become obvious, to either or both partners, could have been triggered by an unpleasant personal or family disruption, but also by a host of other reasons…. If you suspect a marked change or pattern in your partner’s behaviour it is vital you talk about it confidentially within the family and with your doctor. It’s never too early for that personal conversation.

Coping with Alzheimer’s is not just like being caught out in a hailstorm or being overdressed on an unexpected hot day. All your carefully thought-out plans for the day, the year, indeed your life, can become totally disrupted, or at least rearranged. Your life’s season could be completely out of whack, and you didn’t even bring your brolly!

Somehow, definitely with some help, we learn to adapt; we discover new ways forward. It may mean adopting new roles in our partnership and learning new strategies to manage a new, different, lifestyle – ways we hadn’t bargained for! It will be a time to learn new coping methods, new ways of loving and living, that are absolutely vital to keep a happy relationship going forward.

So, let me reassure you: you will learn to adjust, despite the personal climate change forecast! Those long, dark nights and the debilitating days with unexpected, strange, and stressful times will need to be managed carefully, but ultimately accepted as part of life’s seasonality. The night hours will pass, the day will dawn and, like many others, you will find ways of coping with this changed seasonality, this new reality.

Sad, dreary nights and days are not the ones to focus on. It’s trite, but true, that adversity can be viewed like a glass half-empty – but let me encourage you to keep your mind and efforts focussed on the half that’s full and live it as well as we can.

So, take heart, if you are coping with prolonged ill-health or other problems. I hope you, too, will find a way to bring some sunshine back into your life……even when it isn’t the season to be jolly!

How easy is it to take anything, or everything, for granted? Friendship, love, health, wealth, food, shelter – and a bed to sleep in. These are just a few aspects of our way of life here in Australia, yet many people here and in other countries are not able to take those basic needs for granted.

Every day in the news we are reminded of people who cannot enjoy those comfortable lifestyles in so many countries throughout the world – and even in our own community – people who are victims of misfortunes entirely or principally not of their own doing. Of course there are also those who, by their own actions, are destitute or discontented, even angry, friendless and financially distraught, and it’s sometimes hard for me to be sympathetic for such people in their self-imposed misery. But, despite those feelings, I also recognise that some of that distress is a direct result of domestic violence, or some other undisclosed home disturbances.

There are a myriad of organisations involved in assisting these disrupted families and troubled individuals and I am in awe of the volunteers and professionals who try to help. And there are surely even more victims of domestic violence and neglect which is silently suffered and unreported for a whole raft of reasons. Sadly, I suspect, some partners will accept all manner of bad behaviour and cruelty as inevitable, just something to be endured as ‘normal’, and that is so sad.

Which leads me to comment that, personally, I am distressed at the large number of prime-time television dramas and movies that increasingly depict, and depend upon, protagonists portrayed as living a normal life yet are entirely enmeshed in violent behaviour. What’s equally disturbing is the use of disrespectful (colourful?) language – all as though it is the normal state of domestic life.

Despite those gripes about TV topics, I am grateful to be able to share some of my good fortune, my blessings, and my hard-won financial resources to alleviate just a small part of the distress in our community. Fortunately, I learned frugality during my somewhat fragmented, early, years which has been central to my adult life and now allows some flexibility in how I spend the savings in my remaining years. Building those emotional and financial resources and reserves has enabled me to ride the rough waves during the years until Alzheimer’s claimed the life of my dear Dorothy. Savings which now enable me to be helpful and more sharing to those whose lives have been disrupted by illness, separation, or personal disasters.

So, apart from my plea to screenwriters to depict less violence and extremism in ‘entertainment’, today’s message is, equally importantly, a reminder to all of us to not take our peaceful and comfortable lives as a given. To remember to support, when we can, those who are less comfortable through no fault of their own and, crucially, to take nothing we have for granted!

Are you even a bit scared? A few years ago, I used to worry that perhaps Dorothy was scared, too. But I don’t think she was. Even when I tentatively first introduced her to being with others a bit like herself at a day centre; or even when she finally moved to a full-time care home, living apart from me. She was, in the main, always calm and at ease wherever she was.

But I was scared when that moment of separation came. What if the care home staff are negligent (we’d all seen news items of mistreatment in past times)? What if there are conflicts with other residents, what if, what if……? The doubts all but consumed me. How was I going to cope, to not have my sweetheart of decades living with me?

Looking back now, a widower for over four years, I realize just how stressed I was during the years leading up to and including her stay in full-time care. In those years there were times when for almost every waking moment I was in a constant alert state, watching, waiting, listening, helping, trying to converse, striving to be present, to be loving and caring – no wonder I was always tired! Our children, all married with their own families were always supportive and, with local council help, we managed to stay together in the earlier stages of Dorothy’s Alzheimer’s. Neither of us had ever envisioned being separated, we expected to stay together, happy in our comfortable retirement village until at least one of us died. I didn’t see the signs…. And because, at first, we did cope and later with some home help.

Finally, after some nasty falls, blackouts and brief hospital stays, it was time to accept that Dorothy needed more care than I could cope with. And so began the next phase of my “journey of care”.

That meant evaluation visits to nearby care homes, analyses of costs and our resources, seeking opinions from friends, reading brochures and articles, imagining different scenarios. Then the next process of options, of elimination and finally the choice of a care home. Ultimately, I needed the advice and help of a specialist to take me through the financial and paperwork involved with the care home, the government departments, the bank. All this forward planning is a daunting task, especially when you are not exactly rich, you’re ageing, confused, tired and bewildered, just as I was!

But take heart, dear reader, with the right help it is possible to travel the long ‘journey of care’, a road not without some rough patches. I can only strongly recommend you seek some expert help, as I did.

Thank goodness I wasn’t personally alone or lost very often – I have my faith, I have my family, my friends and neighbours and an excellent care home where Dorothy spent her final years. All that remains now is for me to accept this new phase of life, to be thankful and strengthened by the years past and to look forward to seeing our family grow.

The mental and monetary reserves we build by our efforts can certainly be depleted quickly in later years and we all learn to take nothing for granted. But always, in my case, the love and support of my extended family and good mates has endured and enabled me to weather life’s storms and stresses. Now in these later, single years, I can reflect and enjoy each new day and look forward to some fun tomorrow. How good is that!

So, dear reader, take heart: seize the day and love it. Make the most of your available resources, take nothing for granted and, importantly, don’t look back too hard, certainly not in anger!

“Carpe diem” is what the oldies said, and “sufficient unto the day”. We’ll I try to keep those words in mind as we start this New Year……

It comes around quicker each year! And that’s not such a bad thing because it means we have been busy and the time just slipped by and we might even have achieved something with all that busyness! Certainly, the shopping spree at this time of the year keeps many people on the run.

For mature-aged people like me there is no longer a frantic need to shop for cards and stamps and presents and wrapping paper or indeed making lists of people and presents. Finally, I am at the stage of life where ‘gifting’ is not an issue, neither the intricacies of selecting and matching gifts nor the dilemma of disposing of unwanted gifts after the event!

My family is sensible and mostly adopt the ‘Kris Kringle’ method. They set a small monetary limit on gift value and, after a ballot, each person buys only one present for another family member. Sometimes there’s discussion between the two parties, but usually some innovative useful gifts emerge from the wrappings on Christmas morning. The money and heartache saved can then, voluntarily, be used as donations to worthy causes, whether local or for international relief.

It is also the time of year when we can all take stock of where we are, and how we are, and what we can do for ourselves and for others in the coming year/s. Certainly, I need to do just that, taking into account the level of my health and wealth, my ability (or need) to keep driving, and how best to manage my life, my domestic needs and my location. That’s all a bit confronting but face it I must while I am still (somewhat) in control!

So, at this time of year, others like me are also considering their lifestyle, their location, changing health, and future needs. It can be a bit distressing to acknowledge our vulnerabilities, but I’ve made a small start in transitioning to a different life profile; one that recognises no more driving, no more easy instant decisions to go there, or visit there, or look at something necessitating a car journey. Bus passes, taxis, trains, trams, lifts with friends all loom large in next year’s experiences, even if my health still permits!

So, you see, it’s not just a time of year for choosing gifts! For me, and for many like me, it’s also a time to stop and think about the results of my chosen, continuing, lifestyle; the impact that more of the same will have on my friends and family, on their love and concern and my fervent hope not to become a burden.

So, that was my Christmas thinking as I started writing this message but now, well, it all seems like doom and gloom – and that is not what I wanted to write about! It was, and still is, to wish my readers a happy time of Christian good tidings and a Happy (and well-managed) New Year!