Well here I am I have reached the biblical age of three score and ten and considering this in my mind I may be close to the finishing line, what a sobering thought that is!
In my head I am still eighteen years old however my physical aches and pains say to me I may be looking on the bright side of life. When I look in the bathroom mirror in the morning I now see my granddad looking back at me!
I regret very few things in my life and I have always had the outlook that if you treat people how you want to be treated it enables you to sleep easy at night. That however doesn’t mean that if you treat me badly you will get away with it.
I am a believer in Karma. Whatever you put out into the world you get back with interest, so I am always on my best behaviour.
In this day and age this has become e very difficult to keep a handle on everything that happens and that impacts on your wellbeing. I have discovered after many years of stress the only way to deal with it is only worry about things you can control and try not to stress about what you can’t. This has made me much happier.
The biggest lesson I have learned in my 70 years on this planet is that the only thing of lasting value is the relationship with your family.
Family life is about unconditional love for each other and accepting that even though you may not agree with each other you have to find a way to respect each others views without fracturing your relationships.
All my memories of my early childhood is all about my relatives, many who are no longer with us and I remember them as clear as though they where still here and that is very comforting.
I miss them all but to deal with the loss I have put them into little compartments in my memory which makes the sense of loss manageable. I realise that not everyone’s experiences are the same but I take great comfort in the fact that I still remember all the people who surrounded me as a a child, Aunties, Uncles and Grand Parents and it is as though it was yesterday and that is how it should be.
So I thank everyone who remembered me on this landmark birthday and I hope I am lucky enough to have a few more. So after after 54 years of working I have decided it is time to retire and that is no light decision to make.
I now want to do stuff whilst I an still in a state to do it. That is not a bucket list but simple things I would like to do when I want to do them with the proviso that Lady Ann wants to do them as well.
So as the sun goes down on this snowy birthday I can count my blessings, I have a family around me who we see on a regular basis, I have my health, I have a roof over my head and above all I have the love of a good woman who has had my back whatever the situation.
So thank you everyone who has sent me some very nice messages to celebrate with me which means that I may not be forgotten in the passage of time.
John D Eccles 