Tuesday 17 March 2009

Pinball triggers ... finding positive stories and ideas ...part 3/3


Dear Mr Postman .. it's so wonderful you're still visiting us and delivering all your positive letters ..

For over 2 years now .. I've been sharing articles or ideas with my mother, as she's confined to bed in her last days .. - she hasn't really regressed as far as her ability to recall is concerned (yes obviously some things have gone .. aged 88 and three strokes later, that's to be expected) .. but we're lucky she can go back and forth over her 88 years: I describe her as amazing & spunky!!

She's never much liked tv, nor radio: so we don't have those on 24 hours a day as some people do .. thank goodness! I guess she was out in the garden .. growing the vegetables, fruit, tending the animals etc & generally caring for the garden as well as being an exceptional cook & producing food for the family .. she was training to be a doctor before the war and has always loved knowledge ...

We lived outside London, but my mother was brought up in Cornwall and her first husband's family was up in the Lake District, while my father's mother moved to the south coast when I was quite young after the death of my grandfather .. so our holidays were always away from home. We did go to Italy and France on separate occasions .. but didn't travel to Europe really until we were older as teenagers and were able to go off on our own, or as I did go and live in Africa. My father's family had global interests .. tobacco, toys and bridges .. so I can really pinball around happily!

So .. as you can see I still have my work cut out for me .. providing titillating snippets of information for my mother to help her wellbeing and to bring laughter to her .. I constantly work at it .. always making a note, or taking a cutting if something amuses or interests me .. the ideas come from all over the place ..

My mother believes I'm writing a book .. and asks me about the cover, what does it look like, what colour is it, what title have you in mind .. etc! .., why isn't it ready yet?! I'd like to let others access these posts .. so that they can be read to all those many people in hospital, in care homes, in the community who don't receive regular visitors or letters so that they will have something to look forward to every day .. what's new today? and something to discuss with others or think about .. hence positive letters, positive stories etc

So please keep reading, let me have your ideas and your comments .. so I can provide others less fortunate with a different type of service they may enjoy ...

Mr Postman - thank you so much for imparting some more background information .. it's good to be reminded ..

2 comments:

Peter Baca said...

Hilary,

You should put a collection of these Positive Letters together in a book! I think it would be highly entertaining. It is easy to self publish a book today!

Best Regards

Pete Baca
The Car Enthusiast Online

Hilary Melton-Butcher said...

Hi Pete .. thanks so much .. I will do something as the blog develops and as we go forward .. there are certainly a few opportunities: thanks for endorsing my mother and my uncle too as it happens!

All the best - Hilary: Be Positive Be Happy