There seems in life always something that I am preparing for. It could be a talk that needs to be written, a podcast to tape, a bedroom to prepare for a guest who will be arriving soon, a meal to be eaten tonight when everyone gets home.……. Is that your life too? I would assume so. Young ones getting ready for school, making sure that they have a lunch and homework, assignments in their backpack…. checking what day it is for their after-school activities. Young parents daily preparing food for the hungry mouths in their home, helping them with homework, assignments, sport and other activities……. Older people preparing their retirement…

I have been unwell for about 3 months now and my energy levels have not crept past 2 or 3 out of 10. Accordingly, some of the household chores have gone by the by. Now that I am on my feet more and my coughing has subsided to a reasonable volume and frequency, I can see the dust, dirt and grime that needs wiping and scrubbing to bring the house back to cleanliness. It may take a little while to do this, because I start out the day with good intentions and then by the afternoon run “out of puff.” Definitely the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.…

Willow’s 8th birthday was approaching. I offered to take her shopping so she could choose some clothes and shoes for her present. She was very excited and kept checking the whole week about the day and time that I would pick her up. It was a lovely late night shopping experience. She selected some lovely t-shirts, shorts, skirt and track top. A few days later her Mum bought her some sneakers. The next day, as she was putting on her shoes, she turned to her Mum and stated, “I think you’ve bought me the wrong size – I can’t feel my toes touching the top of the shoes…” For a…

Turning on the news this morning to see what the main headlines were, I was late. The journalist had already announced those and was talking about how close we were to spring in the Southern Hemisphere right now. They then proceeded to invite an expert guest on to discuss how to spring clean your house. I groaned. I am still recovering from two bouts of influenza with asthma and have no headspace or energy right now to clean for Spring. Where I live it had just recorded one of the wettest months on record and the coldest day in 50 years. We were all still shivering and there had also…

There are many days when you feel like you are of no importance. You have not achieved much in life. There is nothing really of significance that you can refer to as having occurred. Of what worth is the life you have lived so far been? Let me introduce to you a man called Jim. The story is about him, but this story is more significantly about the other people in his life. Jim had been a football coach. He loved the game and even upon retirement kept up with the latest news, players, and achievements of his old team. Every morning Jim would go down to the local coffee…