Dear Mia,
Good news in the paper today—berries are late due to cool weather! The picking season is just starting, so you may get lucky. Weather is exceptionally fine today—blue skies and 20°C. All-in-all, it looks like we’re preparing for your visit.
Hope all is well. Write when it suits.
A
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I like it when a plan* comes together!
*to pick fruit or otherwise
.
I just went to book a taxi for the airport at the reception. Happened to stand next to a lady (N) who also wanted a taxi for the airport for exactly the same flight. We've spoken a few times and know each other by name.
Mia: Oh I'm taking that flight, do you want to share a taxi.
N: Yes that works.
Lady at the desk: No you can't share a taxi.
Mia & N: Umm but we're friends on the same flight
Lady at the desk: But you want two taxis, thats 400 each. If just one then its cheaper price.
N: Yes, thats why we want to share.
Lady at the desk: But then one taxi won't have a ride.
Mia: If we flagged down a taxi on the street what would it cost us - about?
Lady: Maybe 500 or 600
N: And they would let us share?
Lady: Yes
N: Then that's what we do right Mia?
Mia: Works for me!
N: So cancel that booking, we will take one off the street, thanks.
********
2 hours later, the lady from the desk comes to find me and says
"Its ok, we can let you share the taxi, shall I book it for you?"
Mia: Yes thats good, thank you.
A few days ago I received an email from my elder sibling, it was addressed to my younger sib, his wife and myself, in it she told us some very upsetting news about her health. She wanted to make sure that we all knew at the same time. The sort of news that is hard to hear, the sort of news that is very hard to reply to. But (of course) I did, I replied with the 'so sorry to hear this', 'let me know if I can help' and 'I love you' lines and followed it up with a phone call to her today. We chatted for a long time about everything in her life, decisions she is having to make about her daughters future and what medical tests were going to be taken over the next week. She also said that neither my brother or his wife had replied to her email, and the she was "cut to the quick" that they didn't make even the smallest effort on hearing her news. We talked a while longer about different situations and family members and ended up saying goodbye reasonably happily.
Then I called my brother, we chatted for a while about this and that. Holidays, diving and moving home, just general news. Then I asked if he'd read his sisters email, he said that yes he had, but didn't know what to reply. I offered a few suggestions, to which he mumbled that yes he probably should. Then said he was just too busy to get online much these days. At this point I reminded him that thanks to Facebook news feed I knew how often he snatched a moment during his day to do a movie quiz, post some photos or send some pokes around and that he should spend 2 minutes sending a message of care to his sister.
Seriously I wonder how it is that I'm the only one in my family that takes the time and effort to make contact with anyone, is it that everyone else is married and therefore doesn't care about their blood family anymore? My siblings are 12 years apart in age and have very little in common with each other, and both of them seem to be happy to let each other drift away - yet I am so close to both of them and adore them with all my heart. And sometimes it really makes me sad that they don't share that love with each other - especially as they only live 2 hours drive from one another.
.
Subject line from Marie Claire magazine email
An email arrived in my inbox at 8.12 am today.
Phrased nicely but basically the outcome is a negative one.
Luckily I hadn't pinned all my hopes on a positive result, just lots and lots of them. So I took myself off to watch an early showing of Hugh Grant being Hugh Grant (rather than just turn to chocolate) and now it is time to regroup - again.
I've just had a long heartfelt conversation with my father, it has the possibility to change things dramatically for the better within our family.
He says he has taken onboard my comments and suggestions and can understand where misunderstandings have arisen in the past. He was totally surprised by some of my statements, not realising how his keeping things to himself has affected his children and our relationship with him.
With him if he doesn't have a plan set in stone he sees no point in even mentioning it - I told him that we (his children) no matter how old we are need to feel that we matter to him, if he ignores what is going on in our lives it just makes us appear insignificant to him.
It was the most adult conversation we have ever had.
I then called my brother to warn him that our father may be showing interest in his life and not to be too surprised.
For a few days now my inbox has been startlingly empty. Not a single new email from anyone and just a couple of replies to messages I've sent out. Turns out that I had fiddled with the settings and somehow managed to archive all new messages without knowing they were arriving.
