Thinking of Doug......

I think you guys all know I decided 2009 was going to be a good year for me... sadly it has not turned out that way. I have already been to two funerals so far the third was back home in New Zealand & sadly I couldn't make the journey over. I had known Doug for over 30 years & to me he was one of the few remaining gentlemen left on this earth. I didn't manage to catch up with him when I went home in March, the last time I saw him was in January last year & as we were saying our farewells with the usual kiss & cuddle I knew in my heart it would be the last time I saw him. I miss this man & find it very hard to believe I wont ever see that beautiful gentle man again, he really was much loved. The other very special gentleman in my life... my dad had a heart attack two days after I had arrived in New Zealand & the week before my mum had had another cancer scare only to prove to me yet again how precious family is & not to take it for granted. I think it is very true that as we get older the tables turn, the kids really do worry about their parents in the same way they worried about us when we were young. A few months ago we found out a very close friend of ours had a tumor on one of his kidneys, the doctors seem to be at a loss as to how to treat this as it is a very rare place for a tumor to develop! At the age of 40 this to me is very cruel he still has so much living to do. So as if all this wasn't bad enough a very close friend of mine has been diagnosed with melanoma in her face which the doctors suspect has been there for 20 years or more & the guy who owns the corner shop down the road from us - who has become a friend over the last few years- went into hospital with stomach pains & came out with the knowledge his 45 year old body is completely riddled with cancer.

So now I am left thinking what on earth happened to 2009 being a good year.... surely it cannot get any worse.......