Let's start with the obvious. A week ago today was Lee's Dad's funeral. As these events go it was a very positive day. His last requests were no fuss, denim and red to be worn and to depart to ACDC Highway to Hell! A moving ceremony was delivered by Jez Safford who coincidentally is the chaplain for Northampton Saints! He understood the brief perfectly. There was a wonderful picture tribute set to Guns n Roses Patience. I delivered the eulogy followed by our daughter Níamh who shared special memories of her Grandad and finally Lee read a poem dedicated to her Dad. I was very proud of my ladies reading to a packed Chapel with standing room only. We then had an equally well attended wake at Rothwell Conservative Club. Realising what a popular and well regarded man he was, has been a comfort to us all. The flag over the cons remains at half mast.
This time of year is my favourite. I love the world coming back to life, daffodils, lighter mornings and evenings and blossom 🌸 will always be linked to my memories of Lee's recovery. Here's the blog from last year with that epic video of Lee leaving ICU.
Lee is pleased that she can get the Spring norms/gonks out.
I've been in a reflective mood and realise what a lucky man I am. Whilst we have had a recent loss, such events are rare to me. I was 48 when I lost my paternal grandfather and I still have my Nan. My parents are in very good health. We also have a lot of good friends.
The picture above is Lee with a special group of ladies who started out as 'Friends of Rothwell Junior School,' and have just kept going. In the background you can see my Mum and Dad having a cuddle!
A great example of family and friends contributing to our life was the recent snowday Friday. It started with a drama, as Amy, Joe's fiance, bumped her car in the tricky conditions. Luckily it wasn't that bad so we had a nice dog walk in the snow. Then we went sledging with our friend, also Amy and her 3 year old son...who we adore! After that it was a pub lunch with another friend Tina who added to the growing gang. This was followed by an afternoon nap before Níamh and I headed to Northampton to watch the Saints beat Bath with yet more friends! Pretty much the perfect day!!!
So where is Lee now with regards to recovery? Well the last few weeks have wiped her out with both the good and the bad! However she maintains a positive attitude. She knew there would be a physical price to pay for her party but considers the resulting fatigue, 'worth it!' She needed a few weeks off due to everything, returning to work this week. We are still waiting for her heart operation which we hope is the start of a fuller recovery. Until then the breathlessness, tachycardia and muscle aches continue. That covid19 really is a horrible thing!!!
My new life as a self employed Nurse Therapist is quite the adjustment! I was so busy in the NHS that for that few weeks I kept thinking I've forgotten something! However it's going really well. I have plenty of work and I'm getting lots of positive feedback. The work/life balance change is just lovely! For starters on the snow day I could just do what I wanted! Now I'm focusing on creating some healthy habits. I've restarted doing my daily calm mindfulness, I'm also running again.
I noticed I was feeling really tired recently, which felt weird until I realised I haven't cycled much at all since my crash! Those of us who do a lot of cycling are addicted to it. It's a positive addiction but an addiction none the less. There's a good video on you tube by the vegan cyclist where he describes becoming depressed following an enforced break from cycling. There's two solutions, wait until you get used to reduced dopamine levels or my preference...get back on the bike.
I've been out on my bike the last 3 days running. It was always my intention to join the Tuesday morning RFW Good Bean cafe rides and this morning I finally managed this.
It was a brilliant ride with Giles, Phil, John and James. The weather threatened to be a pain but then it turned out really nice. We had a headwind out to a superb cafe stop, Mortons Bistro in Gilmorton. This is a lovely place and a few other groups of cyclists turned up proving that it's also a popular venue!
On the way back we enjoyed a tailwind that blasted us back to the clubhouse in Middleton. From there I confess I limped home, partly because its been ages since I did a proper ride and partly because my bike needs a bit of TLC. So my Giant Propel is now in Craig's good hands, it's 8 years old and has done 12000 miles on one one bottom bracket...surely that needs a change! It's press fit so I didn't fancy the job myself!!!
My plan for the rest of the week is to enjoy a mountain bike ride on Thursday, get some work done and continue to enjoy this new way of life!
Happy Pedalling
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