On my travels around the Blogisphere (is that a word??) I came across an interesting blog. http://meanqueen-lifeaftermoney.blogspot.com/ I haven't been reading it long but currently the writer is walking from Blackpool to Hull. From what I can gather it's over 100 miles. She's sixty-two years young and has a great spirit. She is taking the scenic route and is posting pictures and stories of her adventures each day.
I think I would like to be like her. She has just decided to take off and do it! She is staying in pubs or B&Bs and doing exactly as she wants. Her blog is worth a read. It has certainly inspired me! A few years ago she cut back on work (exactly what I'd like to do!) and decided to enjoy life! She paid off her mortgage early and lives frugally on a small income.
In some ways she reminds me of my Mum. My Dad left when I was young and wasn't around at all (either physically or in monetry terms) and Mum was left a single woman raising 3 kids (my older sister had just got married and had a baby). She always went without but worked hard at jobs she hated just so we could have food on the table and a roof over our heads. She paid off her house before retirement and now lives on a small state pension. Since retiring and us all leaving home she has come into her own. There are things I discovered about my Mum that I never knew - she enjoys singing and is now in a choir that performs at events and churches. She enjoys keep fit, crafts and she enjoys traveling. She is a lot more social than I ever thought!
Perhaps it isn't that she's changed just that I see her as a woman rather than just my Mum. It makes me wonder what my kids think of me or how they see me. I admit to not being as selfless as my Mum. I enjoy doing my own thing and enjoy my own time. There are times when I (especially now my 'kids' are older) when I run a bath, shut the door and lock them all out.
Ah, I know that feeling. I have had the urge to do that at times too. Now that I'm getting older, I generally soak in a hot bath at night to keep my knees from hurting too much during the day. I think it's that we all see our parents as mummy or daddy, and don't see them as a person in their own right. And we all make sacrifices for our kids. Then, when they're out on their own, we do more for ourselves.
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