One of those little things that make you realise how lucky you are happened to me today. One of my work colleagues, Alison, who has been very aware of just how frazzled I’ve been recently bumped into me in the corridor today and we chatted for a bit about the difficulties I have been facing and life in general. She was giving out some good advice and as always it was a pleasure to see her and to get a different perspective on things.

When we parted company, I popped in to see some colleagues who have recently moved to another floor of the building, to give them a bit of ‘moral support’ in their new home.

I returned to my own desk a few minutes later to find a card tucked under the keyboard of my PC. When I opened it, it bore the following inscription from Alison….

‘Life is not about the number of times you breathe, it is about the number of moments it leaves you breathless. …… find some time to breathe’

I was really moved by such a kind gesture and it made me realise that no matter how dire things seem, it is always worth hanging on in there because of the friendships and people you encounter. I’d certainly say that the best thing in life is the friendship I have found along the way.

So tonight I am glad to have this friendship, relishing friendship in all its forms and thanking Alison for delivering me a bit of balance in an otherwise deeply stressful day. My props for this friendship theme are the ‘glads’ that DM bought for me last week when I was feeling really gloomy – to make me glad! So, the friendship theme is echoed in the spirit of the gift too. Don't you just love the colour?

Two years ago, Claz had tassels on her wotsits and a year ago, my bendy transvasin men got their first outing.