Ashes of 2012

I honestly thought it was just my family that had a run of continual bad luck this last year, but as I read twitter and facebook I see there are plenty of people who want rid of this year. Between the natural disasters and the down turn in wealth I guess a lot of people have had enough.

Personally I have plenty of reasons to hate this last year, lost my job, as did my hubby, lost my health still haven't got a resolution out of an insurance claim from 2011 thus living with bare floor boards and walls, waiting for a resolution on a ppi case etc etc. Yet I suspect that in years to come I won't look back on the year in the same light. I think I will remember the paralympic game I went to, the watching of the diamond jubilee and events like that as will so many others.

For this year seems to have been traumatic for so many on a personal level, but on a national level especially for Britain it has been one where we reiterated our status, we held our own in running the Olympics, arrived on through wind and rain during the diamond jubilee, and I dare to say changed our views. Since the torch relay there has been a different feel of community in areas, I certainly notice it in our area, people want more local events. Us disabled people have been seen in a different light at long last.

So for the last post of 2012 I would like to let you know what happened to me on Christmas eve. I decided in my wisdom to go and get the last bits of Christmas shopping on my own, thinking I could manage, I should have known better when it took me 30 minutes to find a parking space and that was the in the furthest away car park and not even a disabled bay at that.Then I seemed to be on a wild goose chase looking for oil of peppermint for home made peppermint creams. A search that took me near on an hour and to every shop in town. Anyway to cut a long story short I took well over an hour and ended up with way too much to carry on my sticks especially in the now pouring rain. By now I had collapsed on one side as I do when my back packs up, but I still had to struggle to the car by walking through one car park and crossing the road to the other. As I did this struggle a lady asked me if I was ok? I said I would survive but thanked her for the concern, mainly as I am not used to being noticed. But this lady was very concerned and insisted I let her help. She took the heavy bags off me and helped me all the way to my car insisting on loading them in for me. She asked for nothing, and accepted nothing. But without her help I would not have made it home with out calling hubby out to rescue me.

I don't know who the lady was, but I do know she was trying to get her own laundry done, despite her own needs she still took the time out to help me. If there is one thing to carry forward to 2012, it is the fact that it is the year, we re learnt how to be compassionate to others, and not see their weaknesses, but their talents.