On a different planet

I realise that I haven't blogged for ages, so this is well overdue. And looking back at the last one, I see that I was embarking upon a Gym phase, which i need to state right now was really good and wonderful. And yes, I did go regularly and felt better as a result. But my GP referral phase (which I had requested) came to an abrupt end, and that was that. It's ironic that it was doing me so much good - physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually, but that I honestly cannot afford £15/month or £180/annum. It just doesn't fit into a family budget. There is something to reflect on here: the gym made me feel better and perhaps less likely to be in need of medical care in the future, and be any burden to the NHS, but to do so you have to be, in all probability, earning near to £40K/annum to afford it, because lets face it, this is percieved as an extra and for those he can afford it. I have always justified that God has given the open air, the hills and paths to run on, so I'll take that as a freebie. Mind you, as a regular visitor to the osteopath, paying £30/session and going say 6 times a year, the gym would strengthen my back and there would no need for the Osteo?!
The last "review" session with my gym trainer was a chuckle, where he said he would see if he could swing something with his Manager for the diocese. "Yes, Yes" - I responded, wondering what that meant in Baptist terms.
So to the title - "On a different planet" which is a term of warm assessment for those who seem disconnected from reality. Well it comes home to roost! Because this week I did it again! Yes, I accidentally filled up my Diesel car with a small amount of unleaded, and well .....the rest is ....kind of embarrasing. I last did this about 10 years ago - maybe, on the way to my Dad's 80th party. And then I said I'd never do it again. In mitigation, I was nicely relaxed and in fairly detached reflection. I had had a busy 2 hours, and my plan was in my head: get a Costa, fill up at the same petrol station, and only enough until I get to a supermarket where I could then fill up with cheaper diesel. But something was happening deep in me, and I wasn't there. I also need to say that our other car drinks unleaded, so when I fill up with that its the green stuff, when I'm in this car, it's the black stuff. So now I'm waiting for the heavy bill.Oh and one other thing, when I called my breakdown company, and said "oh I know what I've done, I filled up with the wrong gas!" That was it, they said they couldn't rescue me because it was my own fault. Thanks guys! So that cost me a £100!

Finally, some observations that are not unique, it happens to all of us. My mother has finally put our family home on the market, and it's the right decision for her having just turned 80 years. But of course it has the deeper pull of being more than bricks and mortar: that was our home for certainly 45years, and it goes even deeper because Dad built it. So there are deep emotions and memories. Remembering the games that were played, the windows broken, the concreting, the gardening, the friends that came round, the flooding from the dishwasher and the the washing machine, the train room, the parties, the noises and smells, the illnesses, the laughter and tears, and so it goes on! I cannot say that it is anything less than painful, and yes emotional. We even have an array of all of our feet shapes set in the driveway concrete - that will have to come with us!