Another year....

Well, dear souls, another year and another birthday is on the near horizon. For some people the passing of another year creates angst and dismay. For myself, I am at a point in life where one really is content with one's lot. I have a husband I love and a home we have created together. I have friends, some from my early, formative years and some newer, from both my personal and professional lives, in whose company I laugh and very much enjoy myself. I am healthy, albeit a little grey around the edges and beginning to creak a bit, but can laugh at this and get on. I believe in making an effort to look passable each day, but am a great believer in ageing naturally, with an aim to look tidy yet respectable. I  am learning new skills and hobbies that are creative and stretch the mind, giving me great satisfaction. I love the country in which I reside and appreciate the beauty of it every day, glorying in nature and wildlife, the colours and scents, as I go about my daily life. The family, whose contact we keep, are a joy to be with in person and across the various waters of the world. I undertake  professional toil that I still feel passionate about despite the constant and varied demands of it 

As many of you will know, I am a twin, and my dear twin sister resides on the other side of the world.  Pisceans by dint of birth, swimming in opposite directions but always together, yet apart. We have both had varied lives, filled with different adventures but when we are together, why 'tis we like we have only been in the other room. Some people have remained constant in our lives, others come and gone, but we are both happy and content in what we do and with our respective soul mates; for that, my dears, one is most grateful. As I sit and contemplate the last few years, there have been many changes to how one lives one's life, but, dear reader, I do believe us to both to have weathered them well and to be in a good place; long may it last. We both love the countryside we live in, being out and about in it, we love our homes and enjoy them, and take pleasure in life when we can amidst the toil. So, my dears, all in all, one looks t'ward the coming birthday with joy in the last year and a skip in the heart for the ones to come. One is hale, hearty and happy, what is not to like, dear souls, for ageing is not a pleasure all people have the chance to experience and one should appreciate the ability to do so. In the words of the wise, "life is not a rehearsal, live it once and live it well" - a scramble of maxims I fully intend to embrace, my dears, as should we all.