Monday, December 14

Be thankful

All to often we get caught up in our lives and forget to take the time to be thankful for what we have. We wander around in our own little bubble of self pity or sorrow or what ever emotion lets us feel like the poor bugger me. I know that of late I have probably been rather guilty of such actions. Or at least to preoccupied with myself to find the energy to care about others. Actually I am not really sure what it is that has been occupying my time but I recently realised that I have been self absorbed to say the least.

There is a chance that some of this is slightly justified, given dad's passing and all that but I am not really sure how long that can be used as an excuse. Especially given the fact that I think for the larger part of my emotional being I am still neglecting to really acknowledge his death, but that is a story for another day.

The story for today is heartbreaking. Actually heartbreaking is an understatement. I can not begin to explain how this has effected me. Now that the tears have finally dried I am able to type and try to share with you what I discovered.

Deciding to spend some time at Linkreferal I stumbled across a blog which in turn led me to discovering Anissa Mayhew. Now to cut a long story short. This woman is a mother to three beautiful children, the youngest of which was diagnosed with cancer. Twelve months after her daughter recieved her final treatments Anissa had not one but two strokes leaving her paralsyed.

Now I know the Lord works in mysterious ways but......

Does that not seem a little harsh? Anissa is still in hospital and while making some progress it is still only small and her family has a long, hard road in front of them. Reading about not just this woman's but her entire family's strength, courage and determination was more than uplifting. Despite the world just throwing them hurdle after hurdle they all just keep on going. Never giving up, never complaining, just trying to survive.

So if in the near future your life seems harsh or unfair, stop by here and have a read.

Friday, December 11

Oh me oh my

Going about my daily life I constantly seem to have brilliant ideas on what would make a good post. Interesting little thoughts that seem more than worthy of being shared with the wider world. Naturally though when I actually have the time to write about what ever brilliant idea I may have had earlier in the day, it has of course totally gone.

Now I know that a smart person would possibly have a notepad and pen handy at all times so that the brilliant ideas could easily be jotted down as they occur however I fear that this would still not be of much use to me. I am at best absent minded. Most of my best thoughts seem to occur when I am carrying out rather mundane activities, like hanging out the washing, or doing the dishes, possibly driving or, well I am sure you get the picture. Chances are that what ever it is I am doing, regardless of how mindless it may actually be, it it is not something I can just stop doing. If for example I walked away from the washing line to jot down my amazing idea, the chance of me returning to complete my chore would be smaller than small. It takes every once of being to get me out there in the first place I can't take the risk of leaving once I get there or my family may never have clean dry clothes.

Anyway...

The other afternoon, after dropping the kiddlie winks at my mother's I managed to take a quick peak at the shops in a bid to eliminate some of my Christmas present list. Which by the way did not really happen. It turns out that the shops I looked in were full of over priced crap that would possibly only be played with till the first week of the new year. If that. What however really disgusted me was the treadmill and exercise bike targeted at 4-8 year olds. What has the world become???

Now don't get me wrong I am all for leading a healthy active life, and I understand that childhood obesity is at an all time high and ever growing, but is this really the path we want to send our children on? Surely it would be of more use to get a ball and go and play in the park with them than purchase a piece of exercise equipment that was at least a couple of hundred dollars?

Tuesday, December 8

Carols


The other night the family and I went along to the Carols by Candlelight. Christmas is one of my favourite times of the year and each year Carols signify the start of the wonderful festive season.

As we entered through the gates with thousands of other happy families we were greeted by the sound of the pipes and drums band. The sound they can create is truly magical and I could listen to well played bagpipes for hours on end.

As I walked past I admired their kilts and wondered from which clans they were from. As a descendant from the Campbells I am always interested in the various tartans and the family behind them. I briefly thought of my dad.

We got ourselves settled and started eating our picnic dinner while we waited for the show to begin. Looking down from our seats on the hill I could see the pipes and drum band reassembling and preparing to march on stage. They truly are talented to be able to play and walk at the same time. They started playing Waltzing Matilda. I could feel my eyes start to well with tears. One because it sounded so beautiful and two because I was reminded of my dad. I knew how much he would have loved to have heard it. I wanted to tell my girls how much he would have loved it but I couldn't. The words would just not leave my mouth, unlike the tears that were now rolling down my cheeks. I really miss my dad. No like really, really, really miss him.

To top things off once the band made it on stage and finished the unofficial Australian anthem they began to play Amazing Grace. By now I was a blubbering mess. (Much like I am as I try to write this out) This was one of the songs played at Dad's funeral. And to the credit of the band they did a beautiful job, far better actually than the version we found for dad.

My darling angle of a three year old was the only person to notice my sadness. Bless her little heart. Her questions as to why mummy was sad just made the tears fall faster. It was all fixed though with the cuddle and kiss she gave me after I explained to her how the beautiful music made me think of granpa and how much he would have liked to have heard it. It never ceases to amaze me that even at her tender young age she can be so understanding. Children really are a treasure and often underestimated.

The rest of the evening was magical. It filled me with the warmest fuzziest feeling I have felt for a long time. There is something special about sitting around with candles and singing songs.

Credit for the photo goes to budog who you can find more about here

Monday, December 7

A few blank drafts

So in a bid to decide whether I should maintain Rambles or start afresh I have been looking through old posts. The first thing I noticed when I clicked on my manage posts page was that I had three entries that were only a draft. Thinking that they could be a good starting point for new posts (of sorts) I checked them out. Unfortunately they were not of much use.

One was titled Time is Fickle, which I must admit I thought was going to unveil some earth shattering discovery I had at one point made. Far from it. Apart from a title the page was blank and I am unable to recall exactly what it was that at that point in time brought me to the opinion that time is in fact fickle.

The next draft post didn't really prove to be much either. Though given it was titled Two Months!! it was not like it really held a great deal of promise. Here is what I found

And not in a good way

It has been two months since I last posted a blog. (she says with a deep sigh)

I read my last post (dated late April) before I began this post and I must say it made me chuckle, but perhaps not in a good way.

No wonder I never bothered making it anything more than a draft.

And last but not least, well in some ways it is I guess. This is what else I found

Once again I managed to spend a bit of time over at linkreferral checking out some of the great sites that fill the vast void that cyberspace can bring.

Aptly title More great links it is a shame I never managed to actually include the links.

So I guess it is no wonder that my poor old blog is struggling to maintain readers. Hmmmmm

Remember me?

Can't say I would blame you if the answer was no, after all it has been more than a while since I last posted. But hey that is life and at least I am here now.

I have been toying with the idea of starting a fresh new blog. I feel that Rambles may have become a bit stale and it is certainly disjointed to say the least. The only downside is that starting a new blog is not as easy as it seems. Sure it is just a matter of picking a template and then posting away but I want it to be a more than just your ordinary run of the mill blog. I want it to be something that is worthy of entering in blog competitions. Something that people will actually read and pass on to their friends. Something more than what this attempt has been and that all takes time and effort.

Sure I have the time, in fact I am of the opinion that I have too much time. This is based on the fact that I manage to waste such a great deal of the precious commodity. And without looking for pats on the back (though of course they are more than welcomed) it is the effort and ability that I fear my be my downside.

I guess I should clarify exactly what I mean by ability though. While it is always nice to have one's ego stroked by the hand of another I do actually believe that I have more than ample ability to share words in a manner in which is enlightening, entertaining and even informative. The trick is however in distinguishing what it is that will appeal to the widest audience and then reaching said audience. This is where I feel my ability may be slightly lacking. I have never been a writer that writes purely for myself. I write because I want people to read what ever it is I want to share. If I feel I am not being read then I find the motivation to write somewhat lacking (to say the least).

So my question for today is what can I do to get myself read? What steps (other than increasing the frequency of my writing) can I take to make this an award winning blog? (or even just something that gets read by more people)