Little bit late with this one. I’ve had a bit of an attack
of life. This will be pretty short.
I have had a funky chest infection since the beginning of
the year. So that is a (UN) fabulous 12 weeks. I have now got the ‘only comes
in a pack of three’ antibiotics and a change in breathing management medication
because I needed oxygen when I go to my Dr appointment yesterday. I’ll be back
again tomorrow for review and to see where we are going from here. I have a respiratory
specialist referral.
On the mental health front I am doing well and have a follow
up right before exams to make sure everything is tip top and in good condition.
The plan is then to be dumped by my lovely Dr. There is something satisfying
about being dumped by specialists!
Moving on, I have joined BTAA (Brain Tumour Alliance
Australia) I think I mentioned that last time. I have also re-joined LiTES
(Ladies in Technology Engineering and Science) and joined the School of Natural
Sciences Social Committee. I’m really looking forward to things this year.
I have been reassessing where I am going from here. I haven’t
made any decisions and plan to keep going down the path I am on. I have a back-up
plan and as of this morning, a few more options to look into.
We have been approved for our home loan! That means so very
many things for us. It is a dream we have had for years and almost given up on achieving.
It means stability and not having to worry about finding another rental in employment
situations get uncomfortable. It means if something is broken we can fix it. We
can put things on walls where we want them! First order of business before
moving in will be getting new carpets.
One of the things that came up in conversations was the
decreasing interest (not really the right word) for people to get involved or
help people out. There was a time when if a local family had a death in the
family or an ill family member or a new baby etc., people in the neighbourhood would
pitch in and make casseroles and mow yards, do laundry, whatever needed doing.
People supported and were involved in groups like APEX, Lions Group and Rotary.
There were chook raffles and things to raise money for charity and no one
seemed to bat an eyelid. It seems now there has been a decline in ‘community
spirit’ for lack of a better description. People won’t support charity unless
they have a personal experience or a family member which will benefit from the
work that charity does. There seems to be a waning interest in community
groups. Is it a generational thing? An economic thing may be? Or is it the
rising ‘entitlement’ attitude?
I am a bit of a people watcher. I have been watching the
other people on buses recently. There are more and more young people who will
not stand up and give an older person a seat. People are pushing and shoving and being rude.
They ignore other people around them and their needs. There was a young man in
a motorised wheel chair the other day trying to get onto the bus, the driver
had to tell everyone to clear a space for him to get through and to make room
in the wheelchair space for him. She ended up refusing to move the bus until
they had let him through. Yesterday morning there were a large number of school
kids who got on the bus and started filling it front the disabled seat back. An
old frail lady got onto the bus and none of them got up to give her a seat. I
did. Yesterday evening on the way home, the bus filled up pretty quickly. There
was an elderly couple who got on the bus and a young woman shoved past them and
plonked herself down next to me. The elderly lady found a seat for her husband
behind me and was left standing. I asked this young person to let me through
and gave the elderly lady my seat. I am really becoming more and more
discouraged by the way people treat each other and most importantly (at least
to me) who they treat the elderly or disadvantaged in the community.
Monday a pair of young women from Sweden I think, were
having trouble with the go card top up machine not wanting accept cash so I
paid it for them. A young man waiting to catch the same bus as me this morning
asked about 20 people this morning if they had a dollar they could give him to
catch the bus. He quite genuinely had the rest of the fare. I gave him the
money and he got on the bus and was quite genuinely nice. He was one of the few
who got up to give an old lady a seat further along in the journey. If we don’t
care for those around us and take the time to consider someone else, how can we
expect people to meet our needs in the same situation? I would like to think
that if any of our children were short a dollar to get home, that someone would
help them. I hope that if any of the older members of my family would be
treated with respect and concern.
There are of course things that give me that bit of hope.
There was young man who helped a very old lady to cross the road. He held his
hand up to stop traffic from hitting her after the light had turned green for
them. There was a school girl who hopped out of line and went tearing down the
bus stop to catch the head scarf of a young muslin lady who had been adjusting
it. There are good people in the world. There are people who would give their
last dollar to help someone out if they needed it. I hope that is something
that will return to our society. A genuine smile can make a huge difference to another
person’s day and you may never know who it was you impacted or how profoundly.
Be present in the world. Grab it with both hands and help
those you can. A smile costs you nothing and we all have one to share.
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