What makes a difference in your life? Is it family and friends, grandchildren, maybe even your dogs or cats? Is it that special someone who always does a kind deed and says a loving word? Is it the support from family or friends or that you get on this site? There are a lot of things we hold dear in our lives and when something like strokes (or in my case widowhood) strikes then our values change and we may have another look at what is important to us in our new situation.

To me it is never the big events that remain in my mind but the odd and quirky things that happen. My precious memories are built around family and friends but sometimes even the wise words of strangers still echo in my mind. Sometimes it is the out of character happenings that prove we are all human. One of our more solemn church members, who has a lot to say about procedures and protocols etc looks so different when he is holding his grand daughter and smiling at her. It makes me think how wonderful that loving smile is on some faces and when it happens is a thing of rare beauty.

It is November and that is a busy month. Today I was supposed to help out at a Lions BBQ but a friend came and wanted to talk and somehow that lasted longer than I thought. I hope there were plenty there to help. I do get torn sometimes between a previous appointment and a present need though, but I also know it is not good to say to people: "I am always there for you" and then send them away when they do need someone to talk to. So it was a choice by default today, by the time my friend went it was too late to go as lunch time was truly over by then.

I am slowly getting the garden in order, refilling the pots, cutting back the mess up the back of the block. It all takes time and so I do a bit of it when I can, trying at the moment to do a little each day. I wish it was a once for all job, get it cleared up, sit back and relax but a garden is never like that. With the Spring showers we are getting now the grass grows apace and it gets more expensive to have it cut more regularly.I don't think I ever really appreciated how much Ray was saving us by doing the lawn mowing. Now I have to have a man to mow it so I can keep the yard looking respectable. It is a necessary expense.

Family is really important to me as you all know. I am going out to Broken Hill soon to support my son when he asks the Family Court for extra access to Alice his much loved daughter. I do enjoy the time Alice and I spend on the phone and on Skype. At least with that contact she is unlikely to forget me and I have some understanding of the stage she is at in life. This weekend I had four sessions with her, always as I am saying good-bye she says "don't go Granny Sue" so I tell her I will see her soon and be able to give her a hug in person. I don't know if she understands that, I hope she does.

I was talking to a friend about not being appreciated for what we do. She, like me, is a volunteer in her church and puts a lot of time and effort into helping people. We do welfare as food aid at our church, you would not get a big parcel of food as a handout as it is all provided by the people who come to church, a lot of them not well off themselves, but it is enough to tide a family over for a few days. Just lately we are getting products from a local manufacturer of cereals, herbs, spices and sauces and that helps add bulk to the parcels. And of course gives some variety to the meals you can make with the pasta or rice added to the parcels.

Food aid is a good ministry as it impacts directly on how people live and we would like to do more of it. Bless the little old ladies who add something to their grocery list each week to donate to the church welfare pantry. We also have a team of people who help me do the visits to the lonely, the shut-ins and the residents of the various nursing homes who have been past members of our church. They brighten up someone's life as they visit. I find that I also interact a lot with staff, stop and say a friendly word, try to remember their likes and dislikes, maybe recall the name of a child or a pet. A cheerful staff makes for a better atmosphere so that does some good too as that cheerfulness is past on to the residents/patients. So add church to the things that are important to me, and the kind souls who do the ministry in so many different ways.

And last but not least, sitting out in the sun, in the garden, on the verandah, or even near the beach if I have the opportunity to spend some time there. Sitting with a friend in the sun even more so. Add a cup of coffee and life is perfect. Add family and friends and life is complete. Family,friends, church, sitting out in nature...some of the things that for me make life worthwhile.