Salad Days: A time of youthful inexperience, innocence or indiscretion.

Oh how I long for those days back sometimes – the ones where optimism, enthusiasm and sheer joie de vivre outweigh worldly worries like how to pay the mortgage, work, when the car insurance is due and the health and well-being of my friends…..

My world has again been rocked by the illness of a friend and work colleague – remember my friend whose stroke I wrote about last year? Well, I got to work this morning and found one of our lawyers from our company’s headquarters on the landing of the floor I work on. He seemed lost so I offered to let him in with my pass and he confessed he didn’t even know if he was on the right floor.

When I asked him where he was going he said ‘John B’s old office’. My stomach churned. I sought out John’s secretary and she told me that he’s fighting another battle for his life. He’s got cancer. He’s just finished chemo and is starting radiotherapy now and isn’t expected to return to the office for a year or more.

This wonderful man’s sixteen year old daughter is taking her GCSEs this month and the family has to cope with this huge burden as well as guiding her through her exams. How cruel is that? How terrible a blow when his recovery from his strokes was seemingly going so well. Everything I said about John last year remains true.

Then we didn't know if he'd make it back at all. When he did return to work we were all so grateful and relieved. I have sat in his office, by his desk, chatting and mulling over problems on more than one occasion in the last few months I am happy to report. BUT John said to me recently that waking up each morning with chest pains (as I do) isn't good but at least in his view a heart attack is better than a stroke because one can completely recover from a heart attack but his stroke would leave him with some difficulties for ever. I don't know how to judge whether any of that is rational but I do know that he was struggling valiently to get back to some sort of 'normal life'.

Once again I return to a theme – there is no point in waiting for the ‘right’ time to fulfil your dreams. There may never be a right time. At least these events help me to build a new perspective into my psyche. Our time is now. We must take it.

This lovely salad dressing bottle was a gift from my fabulous friend Paul. It’s been winking at me for weeks saying ‘go on, take my photo’ and when DM has just wandered in here he said ‘oh, I wondered how long it would be before one of us shot that as a potd’!

Enchiladas and salad for supper, washed down with some cold comfort.

Two years ago, we were setting off on a small adventure and last year, my little sis was here for lunch.