A Forlorn Friday

In many ways today has been rather depressing. I got up early and did a few things for my mother and then made a lemon cake. I had been invited to meet up with some of my ex-work colleagues (who are also friends) for a sort of American lunch, and the cake was my contribution.
Me being in my own kitchen to cook the cake, did not please my mother because it meant she had to have her lunch a little later than normal. I may have mentioned before that it is not easy sharing a kitchen, but I won't go there again.

I was really looking forward to a couple of hours with old friends but as I caught up on what had been happening in their lives this is when I realised I should count my blessings.

Our hostess has been having a very difficult time with her teenage son, I won't go into detail, it was quite serious at the time, but things are improving.

Another person who had adopted children from a very difficult background (when they were young) and had recently helped them be reintroduced to their birth mother. As a result they quite suddenly decided to go and live with her. You can imagine how distraught this has made their mother. Again I can't go into all the details but this is likely to end in tears. The young people are 17 & 18 so technically they can make their own choices.

The twin brother of someone else is being treated for Leukaemia and he is seriously ill. The brother I know had donated bone marrow and blood and was explaining the process he had to go through. There's still no certainty that his brother will pull through but today, apparently, he showed a little improvement.

Another friend who was treated for cancer of the colon earlier this year had only just returned to work after a period of stress related illness.

Another person I had hoped to see had fallen down the stairs and injured her shoulder so couldn't come.

Another person had been out of work for a while but just managed to get a temporary post until March, so is still looking for for something permanent-not easy at the moment.

That left three of us with no major problems.

So instead of the lighthearted gathering I was expecting it actually turned out to be quite a sombre one. It did, however, allow people to express their feelings in a safe environment, which is a good thing. As most of us had been social workers at some point in our lives, one could say we were well equipped to cope with so much sadness in a small group of people.

So tonight I will be saying a prayer for my friends and I will be hoping better things for them in the coming year.


Archives:
2007: Witty Wednesday-30
2006: I'm losing the plot