Diary of a busyish woman

Hi. Please bear with me because I'm not a psychologist/psychotherapist/counsellor or someone with a qualification on modern society. Recently, I met with a group of schoolfriends, one of whom I hadn't met since 1978/79! That's a heck of a long time and the conversation could have been awkward, because we have all gone in different directions; achieved different ambitions or not; married, single, divorced... The variables were incredible. What transpired was, for me, truly special. At one point, I was asked if I was ok because I was so quiet! I was revelling. There were no sides; no competition, just a genuine interest in how we were all doing. It was fantastic. We were all comfortable with each other. I'm fairly forthright and honestly, at this age if people don't like me or some aspect of my lifestyle (including the fact that I prefer to read a book/cook & bake/write my blog to doing housework, which will still await me tomorrow), I really don't mind. I...

Many moons ago, I was a year behind my peers when I eventually struck out on my own and headed to Cork to begin an intensive secretarial course. My parents decided I should stay in a hostel and that proved to be a learning curve. I always viewed it as a stepping stone but met people who had spent years living there! I became a 'joiner'. It was a case of anything but sitting looking at four walls and I was never the person who'd been involved in sport so voluntary organisations were the natural outlet for me. One organisation very often led to another so that when there was a N.Y.C.I  - 80's Revisited ( National Youth Council of Ireland ) gathering in The Mansion House , Dublin recently, I was delighted to go. From Scouting to church organisations and political, this umbrella organisation crosses many a divide and those people who were involved in voluntary organisations 30 and 40 years ago are still willingly giving their time to the same and other organisations in thei...